Miracle
by Pippeloen
Summary: Future fic. Sam and Andy are married when they have to process a big dissapointment. What will life have in store for them?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is a future fic and will probably be around three chapters. It's mostly written already, so updates will probably be frequent (I hope, never promise anything).**

**XX**

''We could always get a second opinion.'' Sam softly said as he sat down on the bed.

Andy was lying in the bed too, on her stomach with her face pressed into her pillow. ''No,'' she determinedly answered. ''There's no point, we already knew the outcome to this. It was stupid to even go there and put us through that again.''

''You never know,'' Sam tried. ''Doctors can be wrong too Andy and there are no guarantees in medicine.''

''I can't.'' Andy's voice broke down when she said the second word. ''I just can't, okay Sam? I'm sorry.''

Sam slowly rubbed the small of Andy's back with one hand. He was lost for words. He knew that there was nothing that he could say that would make his wife stop hurting. There was nothing he could do that would make her pain go away.

''I'm sorry,'' she said again. ''I understand if you..''

''Don't even finish that sentence,'' Sam warned. He knew exactly what she was going to say and he didn't want to hear it. She was going to tell him that she would understand if he would leave her. And no matter what they had just heard, he was in this for good this time.

''I can't give you what you want.'' Andy sat up, facing away from Sam. Her posture looked so fragile like this. ''If you stay with me, then this is it,'' she warned. ''Just us.''

''That's enough,'' Sam promised. ''You are what I want, okay? Kids never even crossed my mind until I met you. And of course I'm sad if it's never going to happen, but you mean more.''

Andy stood up and walked towards the bathroom. ''I'm going to take a shower,'' she said. Sam stood up and followed his wife, but when he tried the doorknob he found out that she had locked the door of the bathroom.

''Andy please,'' Sam practically begged. ''Just let me in, we need to talk about this.''

Four years before that everybody would have laughed if Sam was the one that insisted that they'd talk, but that was how it was now. He still wasn't the most open guy, but he learned that he needed to communicate if he wanted things to work between him and Andy.

It wasn't an easy road to that realisation. A lot of people got hurt in the progress, including themselves. Still, at the end of the day their bond was too strong to deny. After a year of separation, they found their way back to each other.

It wasn't easy, but it was real.

A little over a year after their reunion, Sam gave Andy a ring. He didn't go down on one knee, there were no flowers, no fancy suit. It was just the two of them curled up on their couch. Andy had a major cold and Sam thought she looked adorable with her red nose and his sweats on.

He had bought a ring three months before that, but he didn't know how to propose. A lot of woman wanted a big and romantic gesture, but Sam just wasn't the type for that. So when he walked in on her going on and on about how awful she was feeling, he just grabbed the ring and asked her.

She practically threw herself on him even before he finished his question. Apparently she wasn't that worried about infecting him anymore.

_The ceremony was small, but completely them. They only invited their closest friends and family. A total of 17 guests was all they needed. _

_Andy wore a simple dress, but Sam thought she looked gorgeous. The top of the dress was made of sheer lace and the dress had a trumpet skirt. The sweetheart neckline fitted perfectly with the necklace she had gotten from her father. _

_Sam was happy to see that Andy decided to wear her hair down. She would've looked beautiful either way, but he loved her hair the most when she wore it exactly like she did during their wedding day. _

_When it was time for their vows, they both first shared their feelings. Sam had a little trouble with the fact that he had to stand in front of all his friends and talk about feelings, but he knew that it was what Andy wanted to do. He sure wasn't going to let her do it and then switch over to traditional vows, so they combined the two. _

''_Andy,'' Sam started. ''Everybody here knows that I'm not good with words, but everybody here also knows that I love you more than anything.'' Sam ran his thumbs over Andy's knuckles and smiled. ''It took us quite some time to get here, but I promise you here and now that I'm never going to let you go again. I'm going to stand by you when things are difficult. I promise to always protect you, even when you think I'm being an ass.''_

_Andy slightly chuckled at that one and all their friends smiled too. Everybody knew that most of their bickering started with Sam being overbearing. _

''_I promise that I'll talk to you when things are hard, but most of all I promise that I will always respect and love you.'' _

_Andy smiled and Sam used his thumb to wipe away the tear that was threatening to fall from the corner of her eye. _

_Then it was time for Andy's speech. ''Sam. I'm so thankful that we are where we are now. I want you to know that I love you more than I ever thought was possible. I want to thank you for everything you have taught me and for how patient you are with me. I promise you that I'll do my best to have the same patience when you need it. I promise you that I'll always back you up, because that's what you taught me. You always back up your partner and you are the most important partner I've ever had.''_

_They never broke eye contact, not even when the minister spoke up. ''Samuel, will you repeat after me?''_

_Sam repeated after the minister and made his vows to Andy.'' __I, Samual Swarek, take you Andrea McNally, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.''_

_He slowly slipped the simple golden band on Andy's finger after he said his vows. Then it was time for Andy to say hers. __'' __I, Andrea McNally, take you Samual Swarek, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.''_

_Sam also received a simple wedding band on his finger and then he leaned in to kiss his bride for the first time. Their friends stood up and clapped. Nobody was able to stop one of the two from smiling that day._

Sam waited outside the bathroom for half an hour. He heard sobs coming from underneath the shower, even when Andy tried her hardest to be quiet.

She had held it together pretty well in the doctor's office, but Sam knew that she was just acting. He knew exactly how much the doctor's news broke her heart. He knew exactly what he was in for, she was going to shut him out and try to push him away.

They weren't much different in that area.

When Andy came out of the bathroom, more than thirty minutes later, Sam was sitting on the floor with his head against the wall. He had his eyes closed, but when he heard the lock turning he immediately stood up.

Andy tried to brush past him, but he grabbed her by the waist and knocked their foreheads together. She was only wearing a white towel and her hair was still damp. ''I love you,'' Sam whispered. ''Nothing is going to change that.''

Andy finally met Sam's eyes and shrugged. ''You say that now,'' she said. ''But what if one day you'll realise that this isn't enough? That you want kids and I can't give you that?''

''Then we can always look at other options,'' Sam reasoned.

''We talked about that,'' Andy softly said as she looked down again.

''I know. I know you don't want to think about that right now, but if we ever get to that point, than we can always look at our options.'' Sam slowly rubbed up and down Andy's sides, trying to calm her. ''There's one thing I do know though,'' he continued. ''I don't want to have kids without you. So I'm not going to leave you and I'm not going to let you blame yourself.''

''It's my fault.'' Deep down Andy knew that it wasn't her fault. That she had no voice in the matter, whatsoever. Still, it was her body that kept them from having a baby, so it felt like it was her fault.

''It's not anybody's fault,'' Sam reasoned. ''How could you have prevented this?''

Andy shrugged her shoulders again and rested her head on Sam's shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her head and rested his hands on her back. ''I love you,'' she whispered. ''I'm sorry.''

''Stop apologizing,'' Sam said. ''It's going to be okay.''

Not much more was said that night. Sam knew that Andy would talk to him if she wanted to. So he just settled for being there for her. He made her favorite soup, even when she insisted that she wasn't hungry. He watched a lame romantic comedy, even though he absolutely hated it. He let her sit in his lap and he held her tight against him, even though it was one of the warmest days of the year and he was sweating like crazy.

Late that night the only sounds in the house were coming from the TV. Andy had her head in Sam's lap and he was running his hand through her hair. She sighed and closed her eyes. ''I'm going to bed,'' she told him.

''I'll join you in a minute,'' Sam said.

He watched her as she stood up and made her way across the living room. She didn't do anything about her hair after she got out of the shower, so it was a complete mess. She looked incredibly sad, but she was still beautiful to Sam.

When Andy was out of the room, Sam ran his hand across his face and took a deep breath. He stood up and walked towards the window that looked over their backyard. They had fantasised about this house when they bought it together six months after their wedding.

Little feet would patter on their hardwood floors. Laughter would fill their backyard. They would buy that dog he was always talking about as soon as she was pregnant. She didn't want a dog when they were never at home, so they decided to wait until their family was a little more settled.

Now all those plans could go in the trash.

_A year and a half before that, they decided that they were ready. They were ready to expand their family. They both didn't think she would get pregnant right away, so when nothing happened the first month, they didn't think too much of it. _

_The second month they were disappointed again, but they knew that it took patience to get pregnant. _

_It went on like that for month after month, until Andy finally held a positive pregnancy stick in her hand on the ninth month. They were both so happy and spend an entire day walking around with stupid grins on their faces. _

_Two days later their doctor informed them that even though it was incredibly rare, they were one of the couples that were dealing with a false positive test. Andy talked to the doctor about the fact that they had been trying for nine months, but the doctor reassured them that a lot of couples needed a little more time than that. _

_If she wasn't pregnant three months later, than they could come back. _

_Three months later she wasn't pregnant and they'd made an appointment for the month after that. Tests were done and they had gotten the news that it was impossible for them to conceive._

_Andy felt numb and didn't talk to Sam for about an entire hour. _

_They had taken some time to get used to the idea and then Sam suggested they would go see another doctor. When they had their appointment today they were both tensed en nervous._

''_Whatever the doctor tells us, I love you, okay?'' Sam said when they took place in the waiting room. _

_Andy didn't look at him but squeezed his hand tightly. ''I know. I love you too.'' _

_It felt like they were in the waiting room for hours, but it was actually twenty minutes. The doctor apologised for the delay when they walked in and introduced herself. ''I've looked through your files and now I would just like to do some quick tests,'' the doctor said. ''Andy, if you would get changed and lie down on the table.'' _

_It hurt Sam to see his wife like this. He hated doctors and he hated hospitals even more, but he wanted to give Andy what she wanted the most. _

_That was a baby. _

_The doctor did an ultrasound and some other tests and then she disappeared for a moment. _

''_It's bad news,'' Andy said. ''She looked way to serious.''_

''_Sweetheart,'' Sam tried. ''You don't know that. Doctors never show any sign of what they are about to say, so don't read too much into it.''_

_When the doctor returned she held their file and sat down in front of them. ''Sam, Andy,'' she began. ''Like I told you I evaluated everything your other doctor send me. With the tests I did today I'm sorry that I have to disappoint you, but sort of a miracle, you won't be able to get pregnant.''_

_Andy closed her eyes and gripped the sides of her chair. Her knuckles turned white and she let out a small sob. Sam had his arm around her within two seconds and whispered in her ear that they would be fine. _

''_Of course there are other ways to have a baby,'' the doctor continued. ''I understand that you don't want to think about that now, but if you have had some time to progress this and you want more information, you can always call our office.'' _

_Neither Sam nor Andy heard what the doctor said. Andy was too focused on not crying hysterically and Sam was too focused on making sure his wife was still breathing. ''I'll give you two a moment. Again, I wish I had better news for you.'' _

XX

Sam felt like punching something, but that wouldn't help him. It was true when he said he never thought about kids before Andy came along. Being a father just wasn't something he could see himself do.

With Andy he dared to take that step though. Over the last year he even became excited with the idea of having a mini version of himself or Andy walking around the house.

He looked at Oliver and saw how much joy his daughters brought him. Of course it wasn't all sunshine, but Oliver guaranteed him that having his family was the best thing he ever did. According to Oliver there was nothing more beautiful than holding your baby for the first time and feel them gripping your finger.

Now they would never know how that felt.

Of course there were other options. Adoption or a surrogate, but for now it was too soon to think about any of that. Right now they needed to focus on getting over this.

Sam checked if everything was locked properly, switched off all the lights and made his way upstairs. After brushing his teeth he walked into their bedroom and found Andy lying on her side of the bed.

Sam laid down next to her when he had stripped to his boxers and put an arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and closed his eyes.

Neither of them fell asleep easily and after a while Andy shifted to her back. ''What do you want to do?'' she asked. ''Do you want to look into other options?''

''I don't know,'' Sam admitted. ''We should probably take a while to get used to the idea.''

''Adoption is expensive,'' Andy mused. ''But with a surrogate there are fertility treatments and they cost a fortune too. Not to mention about how much time it will both cost.''

''Sweetheart, don't do this now. Whatever happens, we'll work it out and we'll deal with it together.'' Sam kissed Andy's temple.

Andy rolled to her side, facing Sam. She put her hand on his chest and played with the hairs there. ''I know that this was the most likely outcome to this, but I just wished she had different news.''

''I know,'' Sam answered. ''Me too.''

''I love you,'' Andy continued. ''Thanks for being there for me. You're amazing.''

Sam nudged his nose with hers and then softly kissed Andy. He slowly bunched up the material of the tank top she was wearing and let his hand roam over her soft skin.

Andy's mouth slowly opened under his and Sam let his tongue slip in. Andy let out a sigh and rolled back to her back, pulling Sam with her. Sam settled between her thighs and kept kissing her. He placed soft kisses on her chin and cheeks and then turned his attention to her neck.

Andy let out a soft moan when Sam licked the place under her ear. She set her nails in his back and slowly dragged her fingers down. ''Andy,'' Sam whispered in her ear. ''You're beautiful.''

It wasn't that he never told her, but Andy never needed to hear those words more than she did that night. She felt incomplete, a failure and she couldn't help but feel like she was lacking as a wife. She needed to know that Sam still wanted her, that he still thought she was sexy.

Andy grabbed the back of Sam's head and pulled it up. As soon as she could, she crashed their mouths together again. She held one hand on Sam's back as the other one drifted to his chest.

Sam moved up a little to give himself some more room and pulled Andy's tank top over her head. As soon as the material was out of the way Sam dropped down again. He kissed Andy's throat and slowly made his way down.

Andy moaned softly and concentrated on the feeling that Sam was giving her.

Sam knew Andy needed this right now, so he made sure he took his time with her. He didn't leave a spot on her body that wasn't kissed or caressed.

They had always had a good sex life, but after a year and a half of trying to have a baby, sex sometimes became a little frustrating.

For the first time in a long time it was about them again.

Just the two of them.

XX

_**A/N: I hope I'll be able to post the next chapter somewhere in the next days. Like I said, it's mostly written, just need to edit a little. **_

_**Please review, that makes my day!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: The next chapter... **_

_**Never believe a word I said, because this is no longer a two shot.. I was typing and typing, then I decided to split this chapter up. After that I decided to do the same to the next chapter, so who knows how long this story will become..**_

_XX_

Three weeks later they both took a weekend off and headed towards St. Catherines. Everything was a little much for them, especially Andy, right now. They needed to spent some time away from work and Toronto.

So Sam called his sister and asked if it would be okay if he and Andy would spent a long weekend there. Sarah didn't even have to think about it and told Sam she would make the guestroom ready. She couldn't wait to see them.

On the way there they made small talk about how well Andy's dad had been doing, work and their friends. As soon as Sam put the truck in park, Abigail came running towards her uncle. The girl was four year old now and was always happy when her aunt and uncle visited.

''Aunt Andy!'' Abigail yelled. ''I want to play with you!''

''Hello Abby, nice to see you too,'' Sam joked. ''I can see you really missed me.'' Sam picked up Abigail and tickled her sides. The little girl shrieked and tried to get away from her uncle, but he was of course much stronger than she was.

Andy watched with a small smile and took of her sunglasses. ''Come on Abby,'' Andy said. ''Let's go inside.''

When they walked up to the house, Sarah appeared in the doorway. ''Abigail, I told you not to leave the house without telling me,'' she said with an angry tone.

Sam walked up to his sister and gave her a one armed hug. ''Relax Sarah, she was just excited to see us. She's fine.''

Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes. She watched as her sister in law walked towards her hand in hand with her niece. Andy was smiling and Sam noticed she finally looked a little relaxed again.

''Hey Andy,'' Sarah greeted her sister in law. She gave her a hug. ''You look great.''

''Thanks,'' Andy replied. ''So do you.''

''I have a new dress,'' Abigail proudly said as she twirled around. ''Mommy picked it out, but I got to pick the color so I picked pink.''

''It's very pretty,'' Andy complimented. ''You and your mom did a good job with that one.''

''Will you come and play with me?'' Abigail begged again. ''I got a new game for my birthday, but mommy is always too busy to play and Joshua says it's a game for babies.'' Abigail pouted and crossed her arms together.

''Uncle Sam and I will be here for a while sweetie,'' Andy explained. ''We're first going to have a cup of coffee with your mom and dad and then I'll come and play with you later, okay?''

''Okay,'' Abigail said slightly disappointed.

Andy noticed the disappointed and crouched down in front of her niece. ''How about this, after we drink coffee, you pick what we will do.''

Abigail's face immediately lit up and she nodded. ''Okay,'' she said with a big smile. As she ran inside to immediately look for something.

''Be warned,'' Sarah said. ''I think she already has your entire weekend planned.''

Sam smiled and took Andy's hand in his. ''Well, we'll see how things go.''

''Oh, I meant Andy,'' Sarah said to Sam. ''She actually didn't even mentioned you once.''

''Nice Sarah,'' Sam growled.

They had their coffee and while Sam took his nine year old nephew to the park to play some basketball, Andy stayed behind to spent some time with Abby. First they played a board game, after that Abigail set up a tea party and later they played together with play dough.

At six they all met at the house again. Sarah had dinner ready and everybody sat down around the table. ''This is delicious Sarah,'' Andy said when she took another bite.

''It's nothing special,'' Sarah replied.

''Well, if the only thing you can cook comes from a box, than this is pretty special,'' Sam teased.

''Hey,'' Andy warned. ''I have gotten better. You even said that the lasagna I made last time wasn't that bad.''

''If you take _it wasn't that bad_ as a compliment.. I rest my case,'' Sam smiled and winked at Andy. ''I offered to give you a few classes, but you're stubborn.''

''You are so annoying when you're trying to teach,'' Andy said. ''It's seriously a wonder that I became so good at my job with you as my training officer.''

''Hey,'' Sam warned. ''I was a good training officer. I taught you everything you know.''

Sarah watched the two bicker with an amused grin on her face. She knew that both of them didn't mean a word of what they were saying. She gave her husband Ryan a wink and ruffled Abigail's hair. ''Well Andy, remind me to give you a tip or two before you leave. I can't have my future nieces and nephews eating food from a box.''

The smile on Andy's face immediately disappeared and she looked down at her plate. She started to frantically cut her meat. Everybody but the kids felt the mood change around the table, but nobody made any comments.

Sam kept a good eye on Andy. After a minute a stranger wouldn't notice that anything was wrong, but he knew her and he saw that Sarah's comment got to her.

By the time it was time for dessert, the mood was a little bit better again. Joshua's stories about school and Abigail's cute comments turned the mood around for the better.

Abigail made Andy promise that she would help her get ready for bed and read her a story. Since they ate so late and stayed at the table after finishing dinner, it was bedtime as soon as Sarah started to clean up. Andy left upstairs with Abigail while Ryan helped his son with some homework.

Sam cleared the table and helped Sarah rinsing the plates. ''Is everything okay?'' Sarah asked as soon as they were alone. ''Andy seemed a little out of it. Did we do something wrong?''

Sam shook his head. ''No, it's not you,'' he promised. ''We're just going through some things right now.''

''Everything okay?'' Sarah asked concerned. ''You guys seem so happy.''

''We are,'' Sam promised. ''At least, there's nothing wrong between the two of us.''

''Then what?'' Sarah asked. She didn't want to be nosy, but this was her little brother. If there was something wrong, she wanted to know if there was something she could do.

Sam put down his towel and shook his head. ''We can't have kids,'' he explained. ''We were trying for a while and decided to check if everything was okay, because she didn't get pregnant.''

''Oh Sam, I'm so sorry.'' Sarah put a comforting hand on her brothers back and shook her head. ''I had no idea.''

''We didn't tell anybody,'' Sam explained. ''But I guess people will start to wonder. We've been married for a while now, so the next step people expect will be kids.''

''How long have you been trying?'' Sarah asked. ''You never know, sometimes it just takes some time.''

''We saw a specialist,'' Sam answered. ''Two actually. We had been trying for about a year and a half. She had a positive test once, but that turned out to be false.''

''I'm so sorry,'' Sarah said again. ''Oh god,'' she said suddenly. ''That comment about her feeding my nephews and nieces food from a box. That was so inappropriate.''

Sam rested his back against the counter and picked up the towel again. ''You didn't know. You couldn't have known.''

''Still, I get why she was so quiet all of the sudden.'' Sarah shook her head and looked at her brother. ''Did they say that there was a 0% chance of getting pregnant?'' Sarah asked.

''Doctor said the only way she would be able to get pregnant was trough a miracle.''

''Did you talk about other options?'' Sarah didn't want to interfere, but she also wanted to help as best as she could. If she could that was. She never heard Sam talk so openly about something so private. That told her that he needed to get it off his chest.

''It's a bit too soon for that,'' Sam explained. ''She brought home some flyers about surrogates or adoption, but everything is so fresh right now.'' Sam didn't want to admit it, but it felt good to talk to someone about this. It was killing him that he couldn't help Andy. It was killing him that there wasn't anything that he could do.

Sarah was silent for a while. There was nothing she could say that would fix this. ''I'm sorry,'' she said again. ''I know how much Andy wanted to have kids. And you too, since you're with her.''

''We just need to readjust our plans a little,'' Sam said more to himself than to Sarah. ''We will be fine. It's just hard now and it probably will be for a while.'' Sam shook his head and threw his towel on the counter again. ''I'm going to see how she is doing, okay?''

'Of course,'' Sarah answered.

Sam slowly walked upstairs and towards Abigail's bedroom. He smiled when he saw Abigail in her bed, under the covers. Andy was lying on top of the covers, next to the little girl. She was holding a book and was reading to her niece.

Sam kept watching her until the story ended. When Andy said 'the end', Sam walked into the room. ''Ready to sleep Abby?'' he asked.

''No,'' Abigail answered immediately. ''I'm not tired, at all. I want to come downstairs and play.''

''We'll still be here tomorrow sweetie,'' Andy explained. ''We will play again tomorrow, now you need to sleep.''

''I didn't kiss mommy or daddy goodnight yet,'' Abby whined.

Sam leaned down and kissed Abigail on her forehead. ''We'll send them up to come and give you a kiss,'' he promised. ''I'll leave the light on. Sleep tight Abigail.''

Abigail pouted, but made peace with the fact that it was her bedtime. ''Okay. I love you uncle Sam, love you aunt Andy.''

''Love you too sweetie,'' Andy smiled and took Sam's hand.

When they were in the hallway Sam pulled Andy a little closer and pressed a kiss to her temple. ''You're really good with her,'' he said. ''She doesn't even notice me anymore.''

''You're her favorite uncle,'' Andy promised.

''I'm her only uncle,'' Sam shot back. He looked at his wife and squeezed her hand. ''You doing okay?'' he asked. He knew it was her idea to visit Sarah, but right now he wondered if he should have taken her somewhere they would have been alone.

''I'm good,'' she promised.

The months went on and on and by the time that fall set in, both of them were ready to talk about what to do next.

After dinner Andy sat down on the couch next to Sam. She faced him and ran her hand across his arm. ''So,'' she said.

''So,'' Sam repeated. ''How do you want to do this?''

''I don't know,'' Andy let out a nervous laugh and shrugged. ''I guess we look at what we can do and what the pros and cons are.''

''Okay.'' Sam turned a little so he was completely facing Andy. ''How do you feel about adoption?''

Andy shook her head and shrugged. ''I'm not completely sure.'' She took a breath and looked at Sam. ''I'm not against it, but it's complicated and expensive. You?''

''I feel the same,'' Sam said. ''I know we can love a child even if it's not biologically ours, so that doesn't matter to me.''

''No, me either,'' Andy agreed. ''In a way it's a beautiful thought that you have a child that doesn't have someone to take care of them.''

''With adoption I do have one demand,'' Sam seriously said. When he knew he had Andy's full attention he continued. ''If we adopt, I want to have contact with the mother and father if he's in the picture. A lot of legal adoptions happen under pressure.''

''I know.'' In their line of work they saw a lot of awful things and Andy knew that Sam had worked on a few adoption cases before she joined 15th. ''There's also the option of a surrogate,'' Andy said. ''The baby would be ours biologically. And if I can't donate an egg at least it would be yours.''

''Like I said, that doesn't matter to me,'' Sam said. He wasn't sure he completely meant that, but he didn't want Andy to feel bad.

''A surrogate is a big risk.'' Andy had done a lot of reading over the previous months and she knew that it didn't always end well. ''She could change her mind and then..''

''Yeah.'' Sam knew exactly what she meant. ''That's a really big risk. Adoption can be cancelled last minute too,'' he reasoned. ''Or we could look into foster care.''

''That's really different,'' Andy reasoned. ''That means saying goodbye to the kids you've been taking care of for so long.''

''There are a lot of kids that could use a little stability and good role models,'' Sam said.

''I know. I just don't know if that's what I want.'' Andy fidgeted with her fingers and looked at Sam. ''I'm sorry,'' she said.

''No,'' Sam immediately protested. ''Don't say you're sorry. We're just talking about this to see what we want. You gotta tell me how you feel, because this is a life changing decision.''

''I just wished it was a little easier,'' Andy said as she looked at her hands. ''A little less complicated.'' After a moment of silence Andy looked up at Sam again. ''Or we could do nothing,'' she softly said.

''You mean...?'' Sam didn't really know what to think of this change of attitude from Andy's side.

''I mean that this is all so complicated and so frustrating,'' Andy let out. ''Maybe we should just count our blessings. Maybe look if foster care is something we would be able to do. I don't know, maybe I can do it.''

''Are you sure?'' Sam asked.

''No,'' Andy said. ''I just don't know what I want. I know that I want you to be able to be a dad. I want you to be happy.''

''I am happy with you,'' Sam promised. ''We have to do something we both want. Something we are both comfortable with. Like I said before, whatever decision we make will affect us for the rest of our lives.''

Andy nodded and scooted a little closer to Sam. She rested her back against his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. ''What do you want?'' she asked. ''If you could make the decision, what would you want to do?''

''It doesn't work like that Andy,'' Sam argued. ''We need to decide this together.''

''I just want to know what you want,'' Andy said again. ''I'm not saying that whatever you want will be our final decision, but what would your choice be?''

''I guess adoption,'' Sam answered. ''Or surrogacy if it's someone we completely trust.''

''I don't think I can handle a surrogate,'' Andy admitted. ''I'm sorry. It's just.. To have another woman that feels our baby inside of her when I can't.. And even if you trust someone completely, that's not a guarantee.''

''So adoption?'' Sam asked. ''Adoption or do nothing.''

''I guess,'' Andy said. ''Maybe just think about this for a while?'' she asked. ''Things between us have been really good lately. Maybe being uncle Sam and aunt Andy will be enough for us.''

''You want to be a mom,'' Sam said while he ran his hands across Andy's arm. ''You've always wanted to be a mom.''

''We can't control everything that happens in life,'' Andy reasoned. ''But I don't want to do anything you don't want to do.''

''I think it would be good if we think things over for a while longer,'' Sam agreed.

''So we achieved nothing today,'' Andy chuckled. ''We're hopeless.''

''We ruled out surrogacy,'' Sam reasoned. ''That's a step. Unless you're not sure?''

''No,'' Andy agreed. ''If that's what you want, then maybe we should take some time to take it in consideration, but I think that it would kill me to see someone else carry our baby.''

''Then it's off the table.'' Sam played with Andy's hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. ''Love you,'' he muttered.

''Love you too,'' Andy replied. ''I seriously don't know what I would've done without you.''

More time past as Sam and Andy took some time to think about what they wanted. It was a big comfort that they were doing so good together.

As time passed, more of their friends found out that they couldn't have kids. Everybody felt bad for them, but knew that they were strong enough to pull through this hard time.

Sam and Andy had decided to look further into adoption. They had already been to a meeting where they had gotten information about the process of adoption. It was a lot of information, but they both felt good about it.

They made an appointment with a social worker that would see if they would qualify for adoption. As the date of the appointment approached, Andy started to have doubts. Sam noticed her apprehension and told her that it would be okay.

''Nothing is final yet,'' he tried. ''It's just an appointment to see if we will qualify and then we can go from there.''

''I know,'' Andy agreed. ''I'm being stupid, but I'm just nervous.''

''It's not stupid,'' Sam reasoned. ''It's a big deal, but we'll see how we feel about it and then we can always decide something else.'' Andy nodded and kissed Sam gently.

As Sam predicted, the appointment went perfectly. The social worker told them that they would get a positive evaluation and that they were one step closer to being parents. When she left Sam found Andy staring out of the window.

''Happy?'' Sam asked.

Andy turned around and nodded. She smiled at Sam and threw her arms around his neck. ''I know that this isn't how we pictured it when we got married, but the way she was talking about it.. I feel good about adoption right now. Really good actually, you?''

''Me too,'' Sam agreed. ''It will take a lot of patience, but it will make you a mother.''

''Any kid would be lucky to have you as a father,'' Andy said. She tugged at Sam's hand and pulled him towards the stairs. ''You're kind, loving, loyal, but right now,'' she said as she stopped walking. Andy smiled wickedly and put her hands on Sam's chest. ''Right now I just think you look incredibly hot,'' she whispered against his mouth.

XX

_**A/N: **__Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The next chapter of 'Miracle'.**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews, I love every single one of them. **

XX

Andy and Sam received information from the adoption agency on a regular basis. Nothing was final yet, but both felt really good about the option adoption.

Andy went out shopping with Traci because she needed new clothes for when it would turn into winter. Because both were so busy, they decided to also have lunch together. This gave them a perfect opportunity to catch up.

Traci had finally found happiness again after Jerry's death. She was living together with someone who was nothing like Jerry, but everybody could see that he was crazy about Traci and Leo as well. Jack gave them stability and that was what they needed.

''I feel like I haven't seen you outside of work for ages,'' Traci said when they sat down at the restaurant. ''I talk to your husband more than I talk to you these days.''

Andy laughed. ''They should totally make us switch partners. I'll take the detective rotation and then you can train me.''

''Like we would get any work done,'' Traci answered.

The waitress came and took their order, then Traci turned to Andy again. ''So, how are you doing?''

''I'm good,'' Andy promised. ''You know, work's good, Sam's good, so I'm good.''

Traci smiled at her friend and something flashed across her face. Andy noticed it, but didn't know what to think of that look. Before she could ask, Traci spoke up again. ''How's everything going with the adoption agency?''

''It's fine,'' Andy answered. ''Lot's of paperwork, but we're used to that,'' she joked. ''It's mostly just waiting though. We'll see what happens. Sam and I are both a lot more relaxed now that we just talked about things and made a decision.''

''That's good,'' Traci said. ''I can see that Sam is really happy.''

''I believe he is too.'' Andy smiled when she thought about her husband. No matter how much hurt there had been in their few years of marriage, she really had the best husband she could wish for. She knew that Sam felt the same way about her and even though she didn't always feel worthy of that feeling, it did make her feel treasured.

Andy snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Traci again. ''How's Leo doing?'' she asked. ''He doing good in school?''

''He is.'' Traci proudly smiled when she thought about her son. ''He just finally seems completely happy again, you know. I was worried at first when we moved in with Jack, but Leo loves him.''

''He's a teacher, he knows how to deal with kids.'' Andy really liked Jack. He was the perfect match for Traci's family. Of course there was still a lot of hurt about Jerry, there always would be. Jack made her friend smile again though and for that, Andy loved him.

''I have to tell you something,'' Traci said a little more quietly.

''What is it?'' Andy asked. She noticed that the same look she saw before was back on Traci's face. ''Is something wrong Trace?''

''No,'' Traci said. ''Nothing is wrong, it's just..'' Traci took a deep breath and looked her friend in the eye. ''I'm pregnant,'' she said. ''I know that you probably have mixed feelings about that, but I promise you that you will be so important to this baby.''

''Traci,'' Andy warned. ''I love you, I'm so happy for you.'' Andy stood up and hugged her best friend. ''Congratulations.'' When she hugged Traci, Andy closed her eyes and tried to get that feeling of jealousy to leave her body. She really couldn't be happier for Traci, but Traci had been living together with Jack for less than a year. Andy had been waiting for a baby for twice that long.

When they broke apart Andy quickly whipped away a tear that was threatening to fall. ''Is Leo happy about it?'' Andy quickly asked. ''I can totally picture him as a big brother.''

''He's pretty excited,'' Traci answered. ''He really hopes it's a boy though.''

''Typical.'' Andy laughed. ''And how does Jack feel about it?''

Traci looked dreamy for a moment and nodded. ''He's over the moon,'' she truthfully said. ''He's making all kinds of plans about a nursery and he wants to build a swing for the backyard.''

For a moment Andy thought about Sam. How excited he would be if she was the one that would be pregnant. Quickly she shook that thought off. She forced herself to smile and be happy for her friend. ''Do I hear any wedding bells?'' Andy asked with a quirked eyebrow.

''No,'' Traci immediately answered. ''That's not in the plans.''

''Not?'' Andy asked. She knew that Traci was a little less traditional than her and didn't value marriage that much, but Andy figured that Traci would want to take that step at some point.

Traci shook her head and looked up at her friend. ''Marriage is not something I ever wanted. Then I met Jerry and he changed my mind. We never got to take that step and I just don't want to do it with anybody else.'' Traci looked down at the table. ''You know that I love Jack,'' she quickly said.

''I do,'' Andy answered. ''I do Trace, I get it.'' Andy quickly grabbed her friends hand and gave it a squeeze. ''You know that nobody would find it weird if you would ever want to marry someone else, right? It doesn't mean that you love Jerry any less.''

''I know. I'm just not sure it's something I want to do.''

Andy smiled faintly and let go of Traci's hand. ''So we get to do baby shopping?'' Andy asked. ''How far along are you?''

''Ten weeks, so maybe it's a little early to tell.'' Traci shrugged. ''I wanted you to know before everybody else and I figured that people would find out if things would go wrong anyway.''

''I'm really happy for you Trace.''

''Thanks.'' Traci looked like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. ''I know this must be a little difficult for you.''

Andy shook her head and put up her hand to stop Traci from continuing. ''Traci, I'm happy for you, I am. Of course I wish that things were different for me and Sam, but they aren't. I love you for making me an aunt again. As long as you promise that I can borrow him or her for sleepovers..''

''That's a promise,'' Traci said. ''Whenever I need to catch up on my sleep, I'll take the baby to aunt Andy and uncle Sam.''

The girls went out shopping and got back with a lot more things for the baby then for themselves. The girls said their goodbyes in the parking lot. When Andy walked into the living room, Sam was already on the couch.

''I was wondering when you'd get back,'' Sam said. ''I didn't cook because I knew that there was always a risk of you girls staying away for dinner too.''

Andy leaned down to kiss her husband and scratched his jaw line gently. ''Would've called you if that would have been the case, but I'm not hungry anyway.''

''We gotta eat something.''

Andy sat down on the other end of the couch and put her feet in his lap. ''Let's just order a pizza. I don't want to get up and I don't want you to get up either.''

''Need a little attention, huh?'' Sam asked with a smirk. He fished his cell phone from his pocket and quickly ordered a pizza for the two of them. When he hung up he pulled Andy closer and kissed her gently. ''You had fun?''

Andy nodded and nuzzled Sam's nose. ''Good day at work?''

''I was down a partner,'' Sam answered. ''Had to do all the paperwork by myself.''

''Poor you.'' Andy quickly kissed Sam one more time and laid her head on his shoulder. ''Traci's pregnant.'' She felt Sam go still behind her and then his grip on her tightened.

''How do you feel about that?'' he asked.

''I'm happy for her,'' Andy truthfully answered. She stayed silent for a while and then looked at Sam. He looked a little worried, so she put her hand on his cheek and traced her thumb over his lips. ''We're going to be uncle Sam and aunt Andy again.''

Sam smiled sadly and nodded. ''I'm glad that Nash is happy. That Jack guy is good for her.''

''He is,'' Andy agreed. ''And now they're having a baby. Leo is very excited too.''

''Good.'' After Jerry died Sam had been spending some time with Leo. He had grown attached to his partner's son.

''You okay?'' Andy asked.

''I am if you are,'' Sam answered. He ran his hand across Andy's body and stopped at her waist. ''How do you feel about this, honestly?''

''Honestly?'' Andy asked. ''I'm a little jealous and I hate myself for that.''

''Andy,'' Sam warned. ''It's natural to be jealous.''

''I know, but still. Traci has been through so much. I wouldn't trade with her for anything. Because even the thought of losing you makes me lose my mind. I just feel guilty that the first thought that crossed my mind was: _'why not me_?''

Sam gave Andy a soft kiss on her lips. ''I know,'' he told her. ''It will get easier.''

''I know,'' Andy agreed. ''I've got you.''

XX

As much as it stung sometimes, Andy did love to see Traci pregnant. One time Jack couldn't make it and she joined Traci on her doctor's appointment. The sonogram put tears in her eyes, but this time it were the good kind.

As much as she wanted to be a mother, she loved being an aunt too.

When Traci was four months pregnant, Chloe, Dov's girlfriend announced her pregnancy too. Again, it stung. Together, Sam and Andy were able to be happy for their friends though. They knew that their time would come, they needed to be patient.

Between the two of them, things were perfect. Despite the fact that they already had been married for

a few years, they were more in love than ever.

Sometimes it hurt to see all the pregnant bellies around them. For Andy it hurt that she would never feel that way. For Sam it hurt that he would never see his wife with that glow or that smile whenever the baby would kick up a storm.

Things were difficult, but together they were stronger than ever.

''What are you making?'' Sam asked as he nuzzled Andy's neck and planted a few kisses there.

Andy looked back and quickly kissed Sam on the lips. ''Don't worry.'' Andy squinted her eyes together and pointed her spoon at him. ''It's just spaghetti, so I can't possibly screw up much.''

''I could eat a horse right about now,'' Sam admitted. He had gotten a call at six a.m. and went to the station right after that. It was thirteen hours later now and he only ate a piece of toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch.

''Hard day, huh?'' Andy asked. She had gotten to the barn two hours later than her husband and had been home a few hours before him too. ''Why don't you relax. I'll bring you dinner in five minutes. I don't mind eating on the couch for once.''

''I knew there was a reason I kept you around McNally.'' Sam kissed Andy's cheek and left her in the kitchen.

As Andy finished dinner, Sam relaxed in front of the TV. He loved that he could just watch TV without his wife nagging him for what to watch. Andy wasn't a typical woman when it came down to TV. She liked sports and action movies just as much as he did. So when he settled on a hockey game, Sam knew that Andy would just sit down and watch with him.

When Andy walked in with two plates in her hand, Sam made some room on the couch for her. They ate in silence. When they finished Andy cleaned up and joined Sam again.

They laid down together on the couch as Sam flipped through the channels. Around eleven Andy noticed that Sam kept nodding off. She softly shook his shoulder. ''Let's go to bed,'' she whispered. ''You're exhausted.''

Normally they didn't go to bed this early, but Sam really was exhausted. So he nodded and turned off the TV. Sam went upstairs as Andy made sure that everything was off and closed.

By the time that Andy made it upstairs, Sam was already snoring softly. Andy smiled as she stood next to her husband for a second. She quickly leaned down and kissed him softly. After that she made her way to the bedroom and got ready for bed too.

When she joined Sam in bed, he put his arm around her. Even in his sleep he was constantly reaching out for her. Andy settled back against his chest and sighed satisfied. It didn't take very long before sleep took over Andy as well.

_The room was white and Andy was in pain, very much pain. She gripped Sam's hand as the doctor told her that all she needed was another push. Andy gave everything she had and pushed, pushed and pushed. _

''_You're doing so good sweetheart,'' Sam said in her ear. ''So good, you're so beautiful.''_

_Andy shook her head and told the doctor that she couldn't do it. She couldn't go through this pain anymore. _

''_You need to breath trough your nose Andy,'' the doctor informed her. _

''_You go and breath through your nose,'' Andy yelled. ''I am trying here.''_

_Sam took a deep breath and stroked Andy's cheek. ''Sweetheart, he's trying to help. All you need is a few more pushes and then he's going to be here, okay?''_

''_You do it,'' Andy cried. ''It's been 28 hours Sam. I can't do this anymore.''_

''_If I could, I would.'' Sam squeezed Andy's hand and kissed her forehead. ''But you don't need me to do this, because you are the strongest person I've ever met.''_

_Andy closed her eyes as another wave of pain rolled through her body. She started to push again and gave everything she had. She threw her head back on the pillow when she felt something slip out of her and then she heard faint cries. _

''_You did so good,'' Sam promised. ''So good.''_

_Slowly the crying sound started to faint and the doctors took off. Andy quickly searched the room, but her baby was nowhere in sight._

''Sam!'' Andy yelled out. Sam disappeared from her view too. Andy searched and looked around the room.

_Andy got out of bed and went into the hallway. Suddenly there was no pain anymore, just the fear of losing her baby. There were woman with babies everywhere, but every time Andy asked someone if they had seen her baby, they ignored her. Everybody looked at her with raised eyebrows. _

_Tears were running down her cheeks as Andy walked around the building. Then Andy finally saw Sam, he was standing next to a hospital bed. In the bed was a woman holding a baby. Sam was smiling at the woman and child and took the baby from the woman. _

''_Sam,'' Andy said as she entered the room. ''Where did everybody go? I want to see our baby.''_

_Sam shook his head and had confusion written over his face. ''Ma'am?'' He asked. He handed back the baby to the woman in the bed and blocked the view. ''Let's go to the hallway, I'll find someone that can help you.''_

''_Sam?'' Andy asked. ''Is that our baby?'' she hopefully asked. ''Why are you acting so strange.''_

''_I don't know who you are ma'am.'' Sam took a hold of her shoulders and guided her to the door. ''Let's find someone that can help you.''_

_Andy struggled against Sam and tried to get past him. ''I want my baby,'' she yelled. ''Give me back my baby!''_

''Andy,'' Sam tried to wake Andy. He woke up when he felt her splashing her arms around. Her breathing was ragged and it was obvious that she was having a nightmare. ''Sweetheart, wake up.''

Andy turned to her back and slowly opened her eyes. It took her some time to adjust to the small light in the room that Sam had flicked on. When she realised that it had all been a bad dream, she let herself fall back against her pillow and closed her eyes.

''You were having a nightmare,'' Sam stated.

Andy nodded and pulled her knees up. ''I guess,'' she answered.

''Want to talk about it?''

Andy shook her head and pushed her face even closer to her pillow. ''Don't even remember what it was about,'' she lied. Suddenly she was very warm and she threw the covers off herself.

''Where are you going?'' Sam asked as Andy stepped out of the bed.

''Going to get some water,'' Andy replied. She wasn't surprised when Sam tried to follow her downstairs. ''Stay,'' Andy said when Sam lowered the covers too. ''I'll be back in a minute. I promise you I'm fine.''

XX

''How are the kids?'' Andy asked Oliver as they just hit the road. They didn't get to drive together much after they had gotten new rookies, but today was an exception.

''Good,'' Oliver answered. ''Izzy is doing good in college. Zoe still worries sick about her, but I try to believe that she learned from her mistakes and is doing good now.''

''She did,'' Andy promised. ''Every teenager goes through a rough patch Oliver. I admit that Izzy's one was a bit heavy, but she got better quickly. Thanks to you.''

''I doubt it was all me McNally-Swarek,'' Oliver teased.

''I hate it when people use both names,'' Andy admitted. ''Just go for one and I'll get it.''

''You could've picked one,'' Oliver suggested. ''Then people would know what to say. I believe your driver's licence says McNally-Swarek, to that's what I'm going with.''

''My name tag says McNally,'' Andy argued. ''You could just call me that. It was working fine when Sam and I weren't married, so I'm sure it will still do the trick.''

''Why didn't you just change your name?'' Oliver asked. ''Or leave out the Swarek completely if you're too attached to McNally.''

''I want to be a Swarek.'' Andy shrugged her shoulder and looked out of the window. ''But I don't want the confusion at work. Besides, I'm used to McNally. Sam still calls me that too.''

''He's happy,'' Oliver commented. ''I don't know what it is that you do with him McNally-Swarek, and believe me, I don't want to know.''

Andy smiled and dreamed away when Oliver mentioned Sam's happiness. That really was the most important thing in her world. ''We fit,'' she admitted. ''It took some time and a lot of hurt, but we fit now.''

''It all happened a long time ago Andy.'' Oliver's voice was a bit softer.

''I know,'' Andy confirmed. ''Sometimes I still can't believe how stupid we were back then.''

''Good things take time.'' Oliver tapped the steering wheel. ''Who knows where you would be now if all that drama didn't take place. Maybe you both needed to go through that to appreciate what you share.''

''Maybe,'' Andy mused. ''Want to get some breakfast?''

''It's like you read my mind McNally-Swarek.'' Oliver turned the cruiser around and laughed. ''All this emotional talk made me very hungry.''

''I'm sure that that was what made you hungry,'' Andy sarcastically replied.

After they had breakfast, Andy and Oliver were extremely busy. Before they knew it shift was over. Oliver was back in his civvies when he past the woman's locker room. ''She'll probably be a while,'' Oliver told Sam as he passed his friend.

Sam was standing in front of the woman's locker room. He still waited for his wife whenever they were both on shift. Even though she had her own car, they drove together most days.

''She went dumpster diving again,'' Oliver said. ''I don't know what it is about your wife and dumpsters Sammy, but I think she gets a kick out of it.''

''Maybe you should go in next time?'' Sam suggested. ''See what it is that attracts her to them so much''

''Nice try buddy.'' Oliver clapped Sam on the back and grinned. ''Seriously though, we just got back and I didn't even shower yet. So she'll be a while.''

''I've got time,'' Sam said. ''We had a slow day for a change, so I'm just going to wait for her.''

Oliver nodded. ''I'm going to head out, Zoe wants me to be home on time so we can eat together with the girls.''

''Since when do our wives call the shots?'' Sam wondered. ''Andy has our entire night planned as well.''

''Pretty sure it started after the 'I do's', probably even before that,'' Oliver admitted.

''Whatever the wife wants,'' Sam repeated the phrase his buddy told him years ago.

''Whatever the wife wants, the wife gets,'' Oliver completed. ''That's the recipe to a happy life Sammy.''

Sam laughed and shook his head. ''Have a good night buddy.''

XX

**A/N: I'm not sure how much more chapters this story will have. At first I wanted to make it a one shot, then I went for a two shot and now I think there might be a little bit more to tell..**

**What do you guys think? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much for the positive response to this story. I really love every review and alert, they mean a lot. **

XX

Andy really didn't know what to give Sam for his upcoming birthday. She wanted to give him something special and something that he really wanted. Every time she asked him what he wanted, his answer was pretty useless though. Every time he just looked at her shrugged and gave answers like: ''I don't need anything,'' or ''I've got everything I need already,'' or Andy's favorite one. ''I already got you, what else could I wish for McNally?''

That last one always ended with Sam wiggling his eyebrows and smirking like an idiot. Andy loved and hated it at the same time. His birthday was just a week away and she was frustrated.

''Sam,'' she whined. ''Seriously, just tell me something that you want. There has got to be SOMETHING, right?''

Andy was sitting on the couch while Sam was standing in the kitchen. Their place wasn't that big so they could easily hear each other. ''Nothing McNally.''

Andy appreciated the fact that Sam wasn't materialistic, but sometimes she wished he would give a hint about something. She really was lost for options. ''There is nothing you need?'' she asked. ''You can't think of one thing that would make you happy.''

Sam came walking into the living room with a grin on his face. ''There are a lot of things that make me happy,'' he stated.

Andy sighed and rolled her eyes. ''Yeah, I know,'' she answered.

''I was pretty happy with you last night,'' Sam said as he sat down next to Andy.

Andy threw the TV guide at Sam and groaned in frustration. ''Let's not do gifts anymore, okay?'' she begged. ''I don't get you anything. Then you don't need to get me anything either.''

''I think we both know that we will have a crisis if I don't get you anything.'' Sam shook his head and laid back down, resting his arm under his head. ''But I'll get you something even if you don't get me anything.''

''How about hockey tickets?'' Andy asked. ''You can take Oliver with you. Make a day of it.''

Sam smiled and pulled Andy towards him with his free hand. When she was sitting on his lap he pressed a kiss to her temple. ''Maple Leafs aren't playing right now,'' Sam replied. ''Just get me tickets when they start up again. That's a good idea.''

''I want to give it to you on your birthday,'' Andy complained.

''You can give it to me anytime you want.'' Sam's smirk grew and he tickled Andy's sides.

Andy slapped Sam's chest and got out of his lap. ''Get your mind out of the gutter Swarek,'' she warned. ''I am going to give you a present and you will like it.''

''I'm sure I will.'' Sam picked up the remote and flicked on the TV. While Andy took place behind the computer, he watched some TV.

Andy felt pathetic. She didn't even know what to give her own husband for his birthday. She was now googling '_What to buy for husbands birthday'. _ The tips she saw there were pretty useless. Sam already had everything he wanted.

Andy kept on googling and she was just about to give up when an ad popped up.

All of the sudden she knew exactly what Sam wanted. Andy snapped up and grinned. She needed to talk to her dad about a few things, but she was pretty sure this was a good idea. She googled a few more things and then she erased the computers history. She knew that Sam would never go snooping, but still.

''You thought of something, didn't you?'' Sam asked when Andy entered the room. Apparently she didn't look so frustrated anymore.

''Best idea, ever!'' Andy replied as she sat down next to Sam. ''I've got to take care of a few things, but I'm pretty sure this is something that I can arrange for you.''

Sam turned to Andy and kept his gaze on her all the time. ''Don't make it into a big thing, okay? No surprise parties and no major presents. I already told you that as long as you're here, I'm happy.''

''You haven't seen my present yet,'' Andy bragged. ''I know this is something you want. And you're going to love it, I promise.''

''If you say so,'' Sam agreed.

XX

The next week flew by and before they knew it, it was Sam's birthday. Andy snuck out of bed that morning and made sure that he was still asleep.

Slowly she walked downstairs and started to make some coffee. Five minutes after she woke up she heard someone tap the window. Andy smiled and quickly walked towards the door. ''Hey dad,'' she said when she opened it. ''Thank you so much for taking care of everything. I really wanted it to be a surprise for Sam.''

''Are you sure he's okay with this?'' Tommy asked slightly concerned. He knew his daughter could go a little overboard when she was enthusiastic. No matter how old she was, she would probably always have that quality. ''I think this is something you should have talked about.''

''I know Sam,'' Andy argued. ''Believe me, this is something he has wanted for a long time. I was the one that was a little reluctant about it. But if you're willing to help..''

Tommy nodded and gave Andy a one armed hug. ''Of course sweetheart. I told you that I actually like this idea.''

Andy smiled and told her dad to bring Sam's present to the basement. When she asked her dad if he wanted to have some coffee, he told her no. ''You go wake up Sam. I know you're dying to.''

A smile formed on Andy's lips as she nodded. She really was excited for today. She knew that Sam would be happy, even if some people thought that this was something that they should have talked about.

As soon as she had let her dad out, Andy sprinted back upstairs. When she reached her bedroom she threw herself on Sam. ''Happy birthday!'' she practically yelled. ''Your present is downstairs.''

''No breakfast in bed?'' Sam joked. ''I thought you were making me breakfast when you left bed this early?''

''You were awake?'' Andy asked disappointed.

Sam nodded and sat up. ''I was, but I didn't want to ruin it for you. So, my breakfast is downstairs?'' he asked next.

''Shut up,'' Andy warned. ''Your present is downstairs and we will have breakfast later. First you need to follow me.''

''I told you that you didn't have to get me anything,'' Sam said. ''You know that I would have been just as happy if we just made this a quiet day.''

''Quiet is boring,'' Andy argued. ''Now come on.'' Andy pulled Sam out of bed and followed him down the stairs. When they reached the living room Andy took a deep breath. ''Okay,'' she said. ''I need you to close your eyes and follow me into the basement.''

''You planning on torturing me McNally?'' Sam asked.

Andy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. ''Just do it Sam.''

''Why can't I just walk downstairs like this, huh?'' Sam asked. ''Who cares if I see my presents two seconds sooner.''

Andy let out a groan and shook her head. ''Just do me this favor, okay? I really want to see your face when you see your present.''

Sam became a little suspicious and looked at his wife. ''You didn't go overboard, did you?'' he asked. He knew she was capable of hiding every employee of 15th division in their basement if it meant that he would be surprised.

''Sam,'' Andy shrieked. ''Just cover your eyes, take my hand and follow me downstairs.'' Andy was kind of surprised that they hadn't heard any evidence of her gift yet, but she was happy that she would get the full effect with this surprise.

With a smile on his face Sam decided that he should probably put Andy out of her misery. ''Okay,'' he told her. He put his hand in hers and covered his eyes with his other hand. ''Lead the way.''

''No peeking,'' Andy warned.

''I didn't turn six McNally,'' Sam said. ''I won't peek.''

Andy slowly guided Sam down to the basement and smiled when she saw what Sam was about to see. ''You can watch now,'' she told him. She watched as Sam removed his hand from his eyes. He blinked a few times and then his gaze settled on their new addition.

''What?'' Sam asked. ''Andy, what did do you?''

''I know I always said that I didn't want to get a dog before we started a family, but now things have changed and I changed my mind,'' she explained. She slowly took a few steps towards the small dog that was in the corner of their basement. ''I picked him out,'' Andy said. ''I wanted to let you pick, but then I went to get some information and they told me that this one here was abused by his previous owner.''

Andy looked sad as she slowly petted the dog between his ears. ''And you decided to safe him,'' Sam finished with a smile.

''I couldn't help myself,'' Andy apologised. ''And I knew that you would feel the same way.''

''I do,'' Sam agreed. ''It's a good call Andy. Most people want a happy energetic dog.''

''He is cute, right?'' Andy asked. ''I know you have wanted a dog ever since we got married. And he's still young, so I figured we could offer him a better life.''

Sam made his way towards his wife and their new dog. He crouched down next to Andy and sighed when the dog cringed a little. ''It's okay buddy,'' Sam whispered. ''Not going to hurt you.'' Sam softly petted the dog and turned to Andy. ''I love it,'' he told her.

''I figured you might.'' Andy smiled and turned her gaze back to the dog. ''It might take some time to make him trust us.''

''Everything worthwhile takes time,'' Sam answered. Andy looked up and nodded. That phrase had sort of became their mantra. They had needed a lot of time to get where they were now, but now it was the best thing that happened to both of them. ''We will make sure that he gets better.''

''The woman at the shelter told me that his previous owner was an old man. Apparently he did name him, but they don't know what his name was. Since he's so young it shouldn't be a problem to give him a new name.'' Andy sighed and scratched the dogs ears gently. ''I talked to my dad. He's willing to take care of him when we're both at work. This week we are either free together or we work opposite shifts, so we can get him settled.''

''You really thought this through, haven't you?'' Sam pressed a kiss to Andy's forehead. ''I love this, you sure you're okay with this?''

Andy nodded. ''I know I always said that I wanted to have more free time and that I wasn't sure about getting a dog. Now my dad will be helping though and I know it's something that you really want.''

''What do you want to name him?'' Sam asked.

''It's your present.'' Andy stood up and walked to the other side of the basement. ''I bought some stuff for him, but we should probably go out and buy a few other things for him together. I didn't want to make all the decisions by myself.''

''Boo,'' Sam said with a grin.

Andy shook her head and laughed. ''You were serious about that?'' she asked. ''I always thought you were joking.''

''Come on,'' Sam argued. ''It's original and it holds meaning.''

''It is,'' Andy agreed. ''Boo it is.''

Andy sat down next to the dog again. ''What do you say Boo? You ready to come to the living room with us?''

The dog was obviously terrified, so Sam softly lifted him into his arms and walked him upstairs. ''Was he in the basement all night?'' Sam asked. ''I didn't notice you going out to walk him.''

''He was with my dad,'' Andy explained. ''He came to bring him over this morning. I felt kind of bad to have him with someone else considering that he's so scared, but he really seems to like my dad.''

When Sam set down Boo on the living room floor, the dog quickly walked to another corner. ''What the hell did his previous owner do to him?'' Sam wondered.

''Apparently he got kicked a lot,'' Andy said with a sad face. ''The woman at the shelter said that he looks a lot healthier now than he did when he got there. Nobody wanted him though, because he's not exactly a happy dog.''

Sam shook his head. He didn't get why people would get an animal and then not take care of it properly. ''We will take care of him,'' he promised Andy. ''It will take some time, but he'll learn to trust us.''

''Happy birthday Sam,'' Andy said with a smile. She walked over to Sam and threw her arms over his neck. She kissed him softly and nudged his nose with hers. ''I'm glad you like it.''

Sam chuckled when he thought about how typical Andy it was to buy him a present that would cost them so much work. It was typical Andy to bring home a traumatised dog as a present for him. Because it was so typical her, he loved it.

He did always wanted a dog. Andy once wanted to make a compromise and suggested that they'd buy a cat. Sam was a dog person though. And now he had his dog.

They spent the biggest part of the day just the three of them. Sarah never went to the city, so she just called Sam to congratulate him. Oliver stopped by after shift to congratulate Sam on his birthday and Tommy came by to have coffee.

Not a lot of people knew that it was Sam's birthday. He didn't like attention, so he didn't mind that not a lot of people visited them for it. In the afternoon they took Boo to the park. The dog was really calm and stayed beside them during the entire walk. After the walk they went to buy Boo a dog basket, a blanket and some toys. All the other basics were covered by Andy. By the time that evening fell, Boo was back in his corner.

Andy looked at the dog and then turned to Sam. ''You don't hate me for not getting you a normal dog, right?'' Andy asked.

Sam glanced at the dog and shrugged his shoulders. ''It's a normal dog,'' he commented. ''He just needs a little time. Honestly I didn't expect anything else from you. I'm kind of surprised this didn't happen sooner.'' When Andy looked at Sam with a pout, he quickly corrected himself. ''I really love this Andy,'' he promised. ''Thank you.''

''I swear, if you would have been there you would have taken him home with you too,'' Andy said. ''He was looking so sad and he seemed to be afraid of the other dogs.''

''Probably,'' Sam agreed. ''Come on buddy, time for your walk.''

''Want me to come with you?'' Andy asked.

''You relax,'' Sam said. ''I'll take him for a long walk.''

''Already spoiling him,'' Andy said with a smile. She stood up and kissed Sam. ''I'll go shower then.''

When Sam returned from his walk with Boo, he couldn't find Andy downstairs. He walked to their bedroom and opened the door. ''Andy?'' he asked. He found his wife lying on the bed wearing nothing but lingerie and a red silk robe.

''I got you another present, just in case.'' Andy smiled seductively and got off from the bed. She walked towards Sam with a glass of champagne. ''Boo down for the night?''

Sam nodded and took the champagne from Andy. ''You look amazing,'' he praised her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and backed Andy up against the bed. He took her glass of champagne from her and put it on the nightstand.

''Yeah, you like it?'' Andy asked with a grin. ''Bought it for the occasion.''

''Like isn't the right word McNally,'' Sam answered. Then he shut her up by crashing their mouths together. Not much was said after that.

XX

Three weeks later Andy walked into the barn with a coffee in her hand. Boo was really settling in their home and already Andy was attached to the dog. She loved the moments where he would lie down next to her when she was on the couch.

Every loud noise still scared the dog, but he seemed to slowly understand that Sam and Andy weren't out to hurt him. His corner was still his favorite hang-out place though.

''Hey,'' Andy said to Traci as she passed her. ''How are you? I haven't seen you all week.''

''Good,'' Traci replied. She was now six months pregnant and really showing. ''Jack is driving me a little crazy though.''

''He's just worried Traci. You have done all of this before, but it's new for him.''

''I know,'' Traci answered. ''We went to a check up yesterday and my blood pressure was a little high. Now he wants me to take an early maternity leave. It wasn't even that high!''

Andy smiled and put her arm around Traci's shoulder. ''He's just worried. Remind him that you know your own body and that you will take it easy when you feel like that's necessary . If it wouldn't be safe to work, the doctor would have told you that.''

''Tell Jack that,'' Traci angrily said. ''He's so frustrating.''

Andy thought about Sam and how he would be if she was the one that was pregnant. She couldn't picture him any other way than overprotective too. She hated the fact that she would never experience everything that Traci was going through right now.

''God, sorry,'' Traci said. ''Here I am complaining when I have nothing to complain about. Baby is healthy, I'm healthy.''

''It's fine Trace,'' Andy promised. ''I get it. Just cut Jack some slack, okay? It's hard for him too.''

''I know,'' Traci replied. '"And I love him for caring, but sometimes I feel like he thinks I'm made of glass.'' Traci took her cup of tea and took a sip. ''You drink an extra coffee for me. I miss caffeine.''

Andy laughed and handed Traci a cup. ''Here, you can smell it as you bring this to your partner. Tell him I said hi.''

Andy's shift went by fast and by the time she left the locker room that evening, Sam was already waiting for her. ''Hey,'' Andy said. ''You done already too?''

''I was here at 6 a.m. McNally,'' Sam replied. ''If you don't mind I would like to take my wife home and walk my dog.''

''We need to pick up Boo,'' Andy interrupted him. ''I'll go pick him up and do some groceries, okay?''

''You just pick him up,'' Sam suggested. ''I'll do the groceries.''

''You sure?''

''Yeah, Boo doesn't like being stuck in the car.'' Sam quickly kissed Andy. ''I'll see you at home.''

Andy never got how Sam did it, but he was home before she was. Boo followed her from her car to the house in a lazy pace. When she reached the living room, the phone went off.

''Hello?'' Andy said. She paused for a moment and then answered. ''Yes, I'm Andy.''

Sam walked into the living room and silently asked who Andy was on the phone with. Andy held up her hand to silence him. ''Of course,'' she said. ''No, that would be great.'' Andy was silent for a while again and nodded. ''We will be there. We can move some things around, that's fine.''

Andy turned her gaze to Sam and smiled. ''Thank you so much. Bye.'' When she hung up she immediately walked to Sam. ''That was the adoption agency,'' she explained. ''They asked if we are interested in meeting a pregnant girl that's giving up her baby for adoption.''

''When?'' Sam asked, his heart beating a little faster immediately.

''It was a little short notice, because the appointment is tomorrow. I figured we could cancel whatever other things we had planned, this is more important, right?''

Sam nodded and smiled. ''Yes, of course,'' he replied.

''I mean, it doesn't mean anything yet.'' Andy really didn't want to get her hopes up. ''But this is a good sign, right?''

''It is,'' Sam agreed. ''Still, a lot of things can go wrong Andy. Please don't get too excited.'' Sam knew that Andy would be devastated if things didn't work out after getting her hopes up. He would hate to see her heart break again.

''I know,'' Andy said. ''I know that this technically doesn't mean anything. She's probably meeting a bunch of couples and sees who she clicks with best. I'm just excited that we got a call. We hadn't heard from the agency in a while.''

''Whatever happens, we can handle it,'' Sam promised.

Andy smiled and quickly kissed Sam on the cheek. ''I love you.'' She turned to Boo and crouched down. '"And I love you too,'' she quickly said. ''Come on boy, time for your walk.''

XX

**A/N: Will things work out for Sam and Andy?  
Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. I love reading every single one!  
Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy. **

XX

Sam followed his wife into the house and smiled sadly when Boo came to meet them as soon as they were in the living room. The dog was still hesitant around a lot of people, but seemed to be more comfortable around Sam and Andy. Even though Boo was a present for Sam, the dog definitely had a preference for Andy.

Today they had a second appointment with Nancy, the girl that was giving up her baby. The first appointment went okay, but it definitely wasn't perfect. Today Sam's cop skills kicked in. He realised something was off. When he started to ask questions, the girl didn't give away much. Years of interrogations helped Sam though, so before he knew it the girl was telling them her story.

She didn't want to give up her baby, but her mother was threatening to break off all contact if she would keep it. Considering the girls age and the absence of the baby's father, she decided to give up her baby. She couldn't raise it by herself.

As much as it broke Sam's heart to shatter his wife's dream, he couldn't go through with it. So he told the girl about all the other options there were. There were a lot of places where she could go for help. Giving up her baby against her will was not an option.

Sam sighed when Andy went upstairs immediately. He knew he did the right thing. He knew that Andy knew that too. Right now Andy just needed a little time. Years of practice told him that he had to give that to her right now.

''Come on buddy,'' Sam told Boo. ''Time for an early walk.''

Sam spend the better part of an hour outside with Boo. When he checked his watch and saw the time, he decided that it was time to head back to the house.

He let himself in and let Boo run into the house. Sam carefully made his way in and found Andy in the kitchen. She was cutting vegetables. She sniffed every ten seconds and Sam took a minute to just watch her.

''You don't have to cook,'' Sam told Andy. ''We can just order in.''

Andy shook her head, but refused to look at Sam. ''It's fine.''

''Andy, come on,'' Sam tried. ''Talk to me.''

Andy dropped her knife on the counter and shook her head again. She placed her hands on the counter and put so much pressure on her hands that her knuckles turned white. ''What's there to talk about?''

''Are you mad at me?'' Sam asked. When she didn't respond, Sam filled in the blanks. ''Okay, I'll take that as a yes.''

''I'm not mad at you,'' Andy replied.

''It feels like you are,'' Sam argued. ''What did you want me to do Andy? There was something off and I know you felt that too.''

''You honestly think I'm mad at you?'' Andy yelled. She turned around and Sam saw tears in her eyes. ''You think I'm such a horrible person that I would take someone else's baby against their will?''

''You know that's not what I..'' Sam tried, but Andy wouldn't let him finish.

''I'm disappointed Sam,'' she said firmly as one tear ran down her cheek. ''I'm frustrated that everybody around me seems to be pregnant. I'm frustrated that a teenage girl gets pregnant when she has nothing to offer to that kid.''

''Andy,'' Sam softly said. He took a step forward, but stopped when Andy raised her hands in front of her chest.

''Don't,'' she warned. ''I know you love me. I know everything will be okay and I know that you think we will get our shot. Right now I just don't want to hear that.''

Sam gave a small nod and took a step forward again. When he stood in front of Andy he put his arms around her waist.

It took Andy a moment, but after a while she put her arms around Sam's neck. She let out a sob and clutched Sam tighter. ''I love you so much,'' she said. ''I'm sorry that I'm such a bitch.''

Sam smiled sadly and pressed a kiss to Andy's temple. ''You are sad and that's understandable. But I know that you would have done the exact same thing as I did if I would've waited another ten minutes.''

''Probably,'' Andy agreed. She let go of Sam and whipped her tears away. ''Who does something like that?'' she asked herself. ''You are suppose to love your children unconditionally. You don't give them ultimatums about whether or not they are allowed to have a baby.''

''Maybe they'll work it out.'' Sam took a step back and rested against the counter. ''Nobody has all the answers, maybe her mom is just doing what she thinks is best for her. A child on her age isn't exactly easy and the father already bailed.''

''Still,'' Andy said. ''It's not perfect, I get that. But you are suppose to help your children. Not emotionally blackmail them.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed.

Andy quickly took another step forward and kissed Sam softly. ''I'm not mad at you,'' she promised. ''And I'm sorry if it felt like I was. I know we said that we shouldn't get out hopes up, but I think a part of me was just really hoping that this would have a positive outcome.''

''Me too.'' Sam grabbed Andy's wrists to keep her close to him. ''How about we go out for dinner tonight? It has been a while since we ate out.''

Andy sighed and rubbed her hand against her neck. ''Rain check?'' she carefully asked. ''I'm just not really in the mood right now and when we go out I want to have my full attention on you.''

''Whatever you want,'' Sam promised. ''I don't care.''

Andy knew that that was actually true. Sam really didn't care for restaurants. He was just as happy to eat at home. Andy loved going to restaurants though. She loved dressing up and going out for a fancy meal, but not tonight. Tonight she just wanted to be close to her husband and no one else.

''Night on the couch with Boo?'' Andy asked. ''I'll cook something and then later maybe we can watch a movie. You can pick.''

''Night on the couch with Boo?'' Sam asked. ''Am I suppose to be worried? That dog seems to be getting more attention than I am.''

Andy was happy that Sam was turning back to his teasing self. She loved the fact that he was worried about her, it made her feel so loved. Still, his worries made her even sadder because it confronted her with his sadness as well.

''Hey,'' Andy said with a small smile. ''We did good with that dog. He's a lot more comfortable.''

When Andy was back to cutting vegetables, Sam took the opportunity to slip his hands across her waist again. His front was to her back and he first kissed her cheek. ''You will be a great mom one day Andy. We will get out shot, I promise you.''

Deep down Andy knew that Sam couldn't make those promises. Today proved once again that they had no say in the process. She loved Sam for trying to make her feel better though. As much as he was talking in cliché's, she knew that he would move heaven and earth if it would make her happy.

Andy stood on her toes and turned her head. ''I love you,'' she muttered against Sam's mouth.

XX

''How are you doing Trace?'' Andy asked as she walked into the living room of Traci's house. Traci was now on maternity leave. It was a bit early, but Traci's body showed some signs that it was time to step on the breaks.

As much as it sucked for Traci, she refused to put her baby in danger. So she sucked it up and spent her days at home now. In a way it was great, because she got to spent some more time with Leo before their newest addition would arrive.

''Can't complain,'' Traci said. ''Blood pressure was a little lower on my last check up and everything looks good with the baby.''

''That's great.'' Andy sat down on a chair and looked around the house. ''It's shockingly neat in here. Are you ignoring everything the doctor said and cleaning the house all day long?''

''Oh no,'' Traci promised. ''That is all Jack. He thinks I can't relax if there's anything out of place.''

''He's kind of nervous to become a dad, isn't he?'' Andy laughed. ''It's kind of cute. I'm glad he's keeping an eye on you.''

Traci sighed and put a hand on her stomach. ''I swear, he even talked to Leo so they can team up on me. Leo all of the sudden keeps offering to make me tea.''

''That's sweet,'' Andy replied. ''He's already learning how to be a good big brother.''

''I know,'' Traci agreed. ''How are you doing? Is Sam working extra hard now that I'm off work?''

''Don't worry about it,'' Andy answered. ''We got a detective from 27th until you're back. According to Sam he does not meet your standards, but he can work with him without shooting him.''

''Thank God they didn't sent Luke in again, huh?'' Traci smiled innocently and raised an eyebrow.

Andy shook her head and laughed. ''It wasn't that bad last time. I'll admit that it isn't perfect when your husband and ex-fiancé have to work together, but it could've been worse. Besides Sam and Luke never got along, so it wasn't about me.''

''You weren't working with them day after day,'' Traci complained. ''They were both so convinced that they were right.''

''Well, we don't have to worry about that now,'' Andy promised. ''I haven't seen Luke since then.'

''That's probably a good thing,'' Traci answered. When Andy raised an eyebrow Traci laughed. '"Come on Andy, you know that it would drive Sam nuts if Luke was still there.''

Andy shook her head and looked serious. ''Sam is not like that.'' Traci looked unimpressed. ''What? He isn't. I think I know my husband a little better than you do.''

''Well, he's not at 15th so it doesn't really matter.'' Traci stretched her feet and yawned. ''Do you ever wonder how things would have worked out if you ended up marrying Luke?''

Andy dreamed away for a moment and then nodded. ''The thought has crossed my mind, but more in a 'so glad things didn't end like that' kind of way.'' Andy smiled when she thought about her husband. ''No matter how complicated things with Sam sometimes are, I wouldn't change him for anything.''

''With Luke and all my boyfriends before him I was constantly trying to be someone I'm not. Sam knows me and calls me out on my crap when I'm not being fair. He challenges me, but in a good way.''

Traci rubbed her hand up and down her stomach and nodded. ''Everybody can see that he makes you happy.'' Traci paused for a second and then continued. ''You make him happy too,'' she promised.

''I hope so,'' Andy said. ''I can't imagine my life without him in it.''

XX

That night Andy was already in bed when Sam joined her upstairs. He got ready for bed and when he crawled in next to his wife, she turned to face him. She ran her hand across his chest and then traced his jaw line with her thumb.

''Do you ever wonder how things would have worked out if we wouldn't have gotten back together?'' Andy asked Sam.

''No,'' Sam answered.

''The thought never crossed your mind?'' Andy asked in disbelieve. ''You never wondered how things would've worked out if you would have stayed with Marlo?''

''Andy, come on,'' Sam tried. ''We have been over this. It has been years since then.''

''I know, I know,'' Andy agreed. ''I don't mean anything with it. I just wonder if sometimes the thought crosses your mind.''

''Why?'' Sam asked. ''You wondering where you would be right now if we didn't get back together?''

''Not like that,'' Andy promised. ''I was just thinking. I know I wouldn't be happier than I am with you. Never mind, forget it. It was just something Traci said.''

Sam sighed and ran a hand over Andy's arm. ''Even if you weren't around back then, Marlo and I wouldn't have lasted.''

Andy smiled faintly and kissed Sam softly. ''I'm not asking out of insecurity,'' she promised. ''I know you're happy. It was just a stupid thought, never mind.''

''Love you,'' Andy muttered right before she fell asleep.

Sam pressed a kiss to the top of her head and smiled. ''I love you too.''

XX

The next day Sam was walking towards his office when he saw Chris. Diaz was partnered with Andy, so Sam scanned the room to see if he saw Andy as well.

Sam didn't see Andy, but did see Chris looking around nervously. Chris looked at Sam and walked towards the detective. ''Sir,'' Chris started.

Out of all the former rookies Chris was the only one that was still calling Sam 'sir'. All the other rookies usually went for his last name. When no one was around they even called him 'Sam', he was married to their friend after all. ''Problem Diaz?'' Sam asked.

''Andy had a little run in with someone we pulled over for speeding,'' Chris admitted. ''I was standing by the cruiser. It took me a moment to get to her.''

''Is she okay?'' Sam asked alarmed. ''Where is she?''

''She's in the locker room getting cleaned up.'' Chris glanced towards the locker room and walked along with Sam as he started to make his way towards the locker room.

''What happened?'' Sam asked.

''She asked the guy to step out of the car and he slammed the door in her stomach. When she was on the ground he spit on her. I pulled him off of her, but he had his hands around her throat.''

''He what?'' Sam asked with a lot of force.

''He's under influence sir,'' Chris explained. ''I think she should get checked out, but she keeps insisting that she's fine.''

''Of course she is,'' Sam muttered. ''Why weren't you with her?''

''I'm sorry sir,'' Chris nervously stuttered. ''I was just getting something from the cruiser. I know it's my fault.''

Sam sighed and shook his head. ''No, never mind. It's not your fault.'' They reached the door to the locker room. ''You go and do some paperwork. I've got this.''

''I think she should get checked out sir,'' Chris repeated. ''She said she was fine, but I could see that her ribs were bothering her.''

''I'll take care of her,'' Sam promised. He knew that Andy was stubborn enough to walk around in pain. Thankfully he could see right through her lies. Sam opened the door to the locker room and heard a shower running.

The only other person in the locker room was a new rookie. ''McNally in there?'' Sam asked her.

''Yes,'' the rookie answered. ''She should be right out. Apparently someone spit on her.''

''I heard,'' Sam said. He sat down on the bench and waited for Andy to come out. Normally he would go into the shower stall, but that probably wasn't the right move with a curious rookie around.

After they got married Sam and Andy both got a pretty serious speech about how to behave around the barn. Apparently it wasn't that common that married couples were allowed in the same division. Sam thought the speech was a little hypocritical considering the fact that Frank was married to a T.O., but both Sam as Andy promised to be professional.

When Andy came out of the shower in a towel, the rookie quickly dismissed herself.

''I'm fine,'' Andy said as soon as she saw Sam sitting on the bench. ''Nothing to worry about. Just needed a shower. He seriously spit on my face. It was disgusting.''

''I heard you also got a door smashed against you. How are your ribs?''

''Fine,'' Andy quickly said. ''You seriously going to watch me get dressed? Aren't there any murder cases that need to be solved?''

''Let me see,'' Sam said. He stood up and started to tug on Andy's towel.

''Come on Sam,'' Andy said annoyed. ''You are being ridiculous right now. I'm fine. Go and annoy someone else.''

''Diaz says he thinks you need to get checked out. By the way you are avoiding me seeing your ribs I think I agree.'' Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest.

''Could you just go?'' Andy asked. ''I need to get back into uniform.''

''I'm pretty sure I know what you look like.'' Sam refused to leave. He wasn't going to let her go back onto the streets if she was hurt. They were having a stare off. After a while Andy sighed and dropped the towel.

''Happy?'' she asked.

Sam ran his fingers over Andy's ribs and when she flinched he took a step back. ''No argument, I'm taking you to the hospital. You could have a broken rib.''

''Sam, I'm fine,'' Andy insisted again. ''It's just a little sore now. As long as I'll keep moving, I'll be okay.''

''This is not up for discussion.'' Sam took Andy's clothes from her locker and held them in front of her. ''I'm going to tell Frank I'm going with you.''

''Don't be ridiculous,'' Andy pulled on some clothes, but couldn't help but wince as she was stretching. ''If anybody is going to take me to the hospital, it's going to be my partner. We have had this discussion. At work we are professional.''

When Sam saw it was hurting Andy to bend over, he helped her get her pants on. ''Okay,'' he agreed. ''As long as you go see a doctor.''

''Fine,'' Andy shortly replied. ''If it makes you happy.''

Sam gritted his teeth and shook his head. ''Yeah, I'm ecstatic,'' he sarcastically said.

''Perfect,'' Andy replied without emotion. She grabbed her badge and walked towards the door.

Sam quickly followed her. ''Diaz,'' he shouted towards the young officer. ''You take McNally to the hospital and report back to me.'' He heard Andy snort behind him, but he didn't even care.

Chris just nodded and waited for Andy to follow him. Sam watched them walk away and shook his head as he did it. He loved Andy, but he could really live without her stubbornness.

As Sam expected, it didn't take very long for Chris and Andy to return. Having a badge usually meant that you would get help pretty quickly. As soon as he saw Chris, Sam stood up. He walked out of the D's office. ''What did the doctor say?''

''She has two bruised ribs, she's in with Best right now,'' Chris told Sam. ''She didn't tell me before, but apparently the guy kicked her in the stomach as well. I don't understand how I missed that.''

Sam shook his head. It was typical Andy to leave that kind of information out. ''Doctor told her to go home?'' Sam asked.

''Yes. Also she needs to take tomorrow off and then desk duty for a week. She was not very happy.''

''I wouldn't expect her to be,'' Sam truthfully answered. ''Thanks for coming to me Diaz. You did the right thing.''

''I highly doubt that Andy agrees with that,'' Chris replied. ''She wasn't too happy with me.''

''She'll turn around,'' Sam promised. ''She always needs a little help remembering what is good for her.''

Chris nodded and checked his watch. ''Do you want me to take her home?''

Sam chuckled and shook his head. ''Let me do that. I can take the rest of the day so she'll have someone to be angry at.'' Chris didn't really know what to answer, so he just stood there. ''Go back to work Diaz,'' Sam said. ''She'll be fine.''

Sam waited for Andy outside of Frank's office. When she came out she just shook her head and didn't say anything. Sam knew she would go change, so he went inside Frank's office and told him that he was going home with his wife.

Sam had put in a lot of overtime in the last couple of weeks, so Frank was willing to let him go. ''Don't be too hard on each other,'' were Frank's words of advice.

It took Andy ten minutes to get out of the locker room. She still had her uniform pants on.

''Let's go,'' Sam said when she walked passed him.

The ride to the house was quiet. Andy's gaze was on the road, as was Sam's. They reached the house and made their way in.

''Did the doctor prescribe you any pain medication?'' Sam asked.

''Already took it,'' was Andy's short reply.

Sam sighed and ran a hand across his face. ''I was only worried about you,'' he defended his actions. ''And with good right. I know you would've never gone to the hospital. I was right, you are hurt.''

''You were right, is that what you want to hear?'' Andy asked, obviously mad.

''Why are you so mad at me?'' Sam asked. ''You would have done the same thing.''

Andy snorted. ''Why am I so mad? How about: 'You take McNally to the hospital and report back to me.' You treated me like I'm a teenager. I am your wife Sam.''

''You were being irresponsible and you know it.'' Sam took a deep breath. ''You were hurt and you were willing to just go back out there. Not only are you putting yourself in danger by that, you are putting your partner in danger too.''

''I know, I suck at my job,'' Andy quickly shot back. ''But I seem to remember one time where you were back at work two days after getting shot.''

Sam shook his head, not believing she was comparing those two situations. ''It was just a graze and I got the all clear from the doctor that time.''

Andy bit the insides of her cheeks to prevent herself from saying something she would regret. ''I'm going to bed.''

Sam didn't respond, but just sat down on the couch. He knew they would be fine. Right now they were both a little pissed. Time would calm them down.

As predicted Andy came back down an hour later. ''Can you help me?'' she asked quietly. Sam raised an eyebrow and Andy sighed. ''I'm in pain,'' Andy admitted. ''Can't get my pants off and they are uncomfortable, so I can't sleep with them on.''

Sam stood up and followed Andy upstairs. He helped her getting out of her uniform pants and helped her put on shorts. When he was done he pressed a kiss to her forehead. ''I was just worried about you,'' he told her.

''I know,'' Andy said. ''I'm sorry.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed. ''I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gone behind your back.''

''Probably would have done the same thing,'' Andy admitted. ''I just hate it when I feel like other people are making decisions for me.''

Sam helped Andy in bed and sat down next to her. ''We are married Andy. We are suppose to make decisions for each other every now and then.''

''I know,'' Andy said again. ''That's why I'm apologizing. All though that '_you report back to me'_ comment really did suck. I wouldn't lie to you about what the doctor said.''

Sam nodded. ''Sorry,'' he said. ''You get to pick what we're going to eat, to make it up to you.''

''Meatloaf, Sarah's recipe,'' Andy quickly said.

''Wouldn't have guessed,'' Sam said with a smile. He quickly kissed Andy one more time and nudged her nose with his. ''I'll go get some groceries.''

XX

**A/N: Just a filler chapter. **

**Please review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you are still all with me on this one!**

**I own nothing!**

**XX**

Andy woke up when she felt warm fingers trace her stomach. She made some incoherent sound. The movements continued and Andy smiled. ''I'm sleeping,'' she softly said.

''Then wake up,'' Sam argued. ''I haven't seen you all week.''

''And whose fault is that?'' Andy asked. She rolled to her side so she faced Sam, but she still kept her eyes closed completely. She felt Sam press small kisses to her cheek, neck and shoulder. ''Stop distracting me from my sleep,'' she whined. ''It's so good.''

Sam laughed and ran his hand up and down Andy's side. ''You are not worried about hurting my ego, are you?''

Slowly Andy's mouth corners went up. She pushed her head further into her pillow and snuggled closer to Sam. ''I've been married to you for a while now. I know your ego is fine.''

Sam lowered one of the straps of her tanktop and softly kissed the newly exposed skin. ''Haven't had a moment alone with you in a while. I'm feeling a little neglected,'' Sam complained.

Andy was grinning by now. She had been awake for a while, but she liked messing with Sam a little bit. She had been fully healed for two weeks now and it was true that she and Sam hadn't had much time alone. He was working normal hours while she was on night shift.

Their day's off didn't match either, so basically Sam was right when he said that they hadn't had a moment alone in a week.

Andy moaned softly when Sam sucked on the skin behind her ear. Andy's hands went to Sam's back and she roamed them up and down. ''Finally a sign that you missed me too,'' Sam teased. ''I was beginning to worry here.''

''What can I say?'' Andy asked. ''I just value my sleep. It's extremely important to me.''

''More important than your husband?'' Sam asked. He pushed up her tanktop and put his hands under the material. His hands softly explored Andy's stomach and back when he pulled her towards him.

''I have to say that this is a wake-up call I can get behind,'' Andy said. She pulled Sam's head towards hers and kissed him deeply. Andy moved over to her back and Sam settled between her thighs.

Slowly they continued their caresses and kisses. ''I'm going to talk to Frank.'' Sam pulled Andy's tanktop over her head and threw it on the floor. ''We need to work the same shift.''

''Talking about your boss when we're in bed,'' Andy said between kisses. ''Whatever works for you, but I have to say that I'm the one that's beginning to worry right about now.''

Sam shook his head and smiled. ''We need to be on the same shift,'' Sam repeated.

''I'm sure that our boss would be more than happy to rearrange his schedule for our sex life.'' Andy pushed Sam's boxers down with one hand and her toes. ''I would love to see his face after you talked to him about that.''

Sam let out a short laugh and then placed his lips on Andy's neck again. ''You missed me too.''

''Never said I didn't,'' Andy agreed. She lifted her hips a little so Sam could pull her short off.

Sam trailed a path of kisses down Andy's body. ''Still want to sleep?''

XX

Three hours later Andy woke up for the second time that day. Sam was still snoring lightly, but she heard something buzzing beside the bed. Andy rubbed her eyes and yawned as she made her way out of the bed. She grabbed her robe from a chair and quickly pulled it on.

She took her jeans from the floor. She remembered throwing them down there before falling in bed. Andy quickly checked her pockets and found her phone. When she saw she had three missed phone calls from Traci, her heart rate sped up a little.

Quickly she hit the dial button and walked out of the room.

''_Took you long enough,'' _Traci complained when she answered. _''I was beginning to think that you don't want to meet your new nephew.''_

''He's here?'' Andy asked as the smile on her face grew bigger. ''How are you? Did everything go okay?''

''_Giving birth will never become my hobby, but according to the doctor it went perfectly. I am a very happy and proud mom right about now. I'm watching my one boy hold my other boy.''_

''What's his name?''Andy asked. ''Is he okay too.''

''_He's perfect,'' _Traci promised. ''_He's so beautiful Andy. Already has quite the set of lungs on him, but that's a good thing. We named him Jerry.''_

Andy could hear that Traci was emotional. She couldn't blame her for that. ''Trace,'' Andy said as tears filled her eyes. ''It's beautiful.''

''_I asked Jerry's mom if she was okay with it and she thought it was fitting. It's not like we'll ever forget him either way, but this just seemed the right thing to do.''_

''It is fitting,'' Andy agreed. ''Is Jack over the moon to? Did he manage to get through the birth without fainting or throwing up?''

Andy heard Traci chuckle. ''_He is really happy too. I think he already has about 500 pictures of him. He was great during the entire process. I think I may have broken his hand, but he hasn't complained once.''_

''That's the spirit.'' Andy smiled. ''Congratulations Trace. I'm so happy for you. Congratulate Leo and Jack from me too. I'll be there as soon as I can.''

''_See you soon,'' _Traci replied before she hung up.

Andy stayed in the hallway smiling for a while. Of course she wished that it was her in the hospital, but if anybody deserved it than it was Traci. Quickly Andy returned to the bedroom. She opened a drawer and threw clothes on Sam. ''Sam,'' she practically yelled. ''You have to get dressed.''

Sam turned around and ran a hand across his face. ''And then you complain about my wake up methods?'' he questioned. ''I think my way was a lot more friendly.''

''Traci called,'' Andy interrupted him. ''She gave birth and we have to go there because soon everybody will be there and I want to hold him.''

''Everything went okay?'' Sam immediately asked. He knew how important Traci was to Andy. After Jerry's death Sam made it his job to keep an eye out for her too.

Andy nodded and smiled. ''She said that everything went perfectly.'' Andy sat down on the bed next to Sam and put her hands in his hair. ''They called him Jerry. Traci asked Jerry's mom if she was okay with it and she gave her permission.''

Sam's face turned serious and he put his hand on Andy's waist. ''That's nice,'' he sadly said. ''You want to go over there right now?''

Andy was a little concerned for Sam, but she knew that he would talk to her whenever he was ready or willing. Jerry's death still was a subject that Sam rather avoided. After they had gotten back together they had talked about everything that went on during that time, but Sam had trouble showing his emotions about losing his best friend. Even after years he still had a difficult time dealing with it.

''I do. You coming with me?''

''Of course,'' Sam promised. ''Did Nash need us to pick up anything?''

''No.'' Andy started to dress. ''Leo was already there and Jack of course too. So I'm sure that she has everything she needs already.'' As soon as she had clothes on Andy walked to the bathroom. She combed her hair and put it in a braid. ''I'm so curious to see what he looks like. Traci showed me pictures from when Leo was a baby, he was beyond adorable.''

''Aren't newborns usually kind of freaky?'' Sam wondered. ''Abigail and Joshua looked like they went boxing after they were just born.''

Andy slapped Sam's chest and looked a little mad. ''You are not going to make comments like that when we are at the hospital,'' she warned. '''Baby's are suppose to look like that after they are just born. If you are making comments about that, you will upset Traci.''

Sam laughed and nodded. ''Relax,'' he promised. ''I'm fully aware of the fact that hormones don't disappear immediately after the baby is born.''

''No comments about hormones either,'' Andy demanded. ''Just congratulate her and be nice, okay?''

Sam kept on laughing and shook his head. ''You know, I am around people more often.''

Andy nodded and leaned back against Sam's chest. ''Sorry. I'm just really excited about this. Traci really deserves this, you know?''

''I know,'' Sam promised. ''I'll behave.''

''I'm not worried about you. I was acting stupid, never mind. Love you.''

With the grin that was plastered on Andy's face, Sam was pretty sure he would let her get away with anything. They were in a good place right now and he was thankful that they were still going strong with everything they went through.

''I love you too,'' Sam muttered against her hairline. He grabbed his toothbrush and yawned one last time. ''I'll be ready in five.''

XX

''God, he's gorgeous Traci,'' Andy complimented her best friend. ''He is so cute.''

''Congratulations Nash,'' Sam told Traci. ''He's beautiful.''

''He is,'' Traci agreed. ''Can you hand me my purse?'' Traci asked Sam. ''Jack went to take Leo to the restaurant and I want to text him that I want a sandwich too. The food they have here is not satisfying.''

Sam laughed and handed Traci the purse. He watched as Andy gently rocked the newborn baby on her arm. A smile formed on his lips as he watched her with a grin bigger than ever.

''You distract her,'' Andy told Sam as she nodded at Traci. ''I'll sneak him out and we'll meet in the parking lot again.''

''Hey,'' Traci warned. ''I am keeping an eye on you miss.''

Andy laughed and focused on the small bundle in her arms again. ''I'm borrowing you for sleepovers,'' she told Jerry. ''You will be spoiled rotten.''

''Hey aunt Andy and uncle Sam,'' Leo said as he walked inside. ''Can I hold Jerry again?'' he asked immediately. ''Mom said I could hold him again when I came back.''

''You'll be able to hold him all the time,'' Traci told her oldest son. ''Now Andy is holding him and maybe Sam wants to hold him too?'' Traci looked at Sam and he gave a small nod.

Sam walked over to Andy and gently placed his arms under hers. He took the baby from her and looked down as Jerry drifted back to sleep. The sight of her husband holding a tiny baby made Andy smile. It was a slightly sad smile, but she wasn't just sad. She was happy she was an aunt again. She was happy that Traci got her happily ever after.

''Actually,'' Traci disturbed Andy from her thoughts. ''Now that we are all here.. Jack and I discussed this and we would be honored if you two would be willing to become Jerry's godparents. It would mean a lot to both of us.''

''Traci,'' Andy said. She shared a look with Sam and then smiled at her best friend. ''Of course. We would be honored.'' Andy walked over to the hospital bed and have Traci a warm armed hug. ''Congratulations to you too dad,'' she told Jack as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. ''And you buddy,'' she said as she walked to Leo. ''You are going to be the best big brother ever.''

''He won't be much fun now,'' Leo complained. ''But I did get to stay home from school today. And I had a big test, so that's a good thing.''

Sam walked over to Leo with Jerry in his arms. ''Don't act all though,'' Sam warned. ''Just two minutes ago you couldn't wait to hold him.'' Sam motioned for Leo to sit down and put Jerry down in his brother's arms again. Leo and Sam actually got along pretty good.

''He is kind of funny,'' Leo admitted. ''Especially when he yawns.''

''So cute,'' Andy said as she watched the boys interact. ''We'll leave your family alone for now,'' she told Traci. ''But I'll be back to make more pictures.''

''Wouldn't expect anything else,'' Traci laughed. ''Thanks for coming.''

''Congratulations again Nash,'' Sam said. ''You can really be proud.''

''I am,'' Traci agreed.

XX

That evening Sam, Andy and Boo were walking through the park. Sam had Boo on a leash and had Andy's hand in his free one.

''I love the summer,'' Andy sighed. ''I love nights like these.''

Sam hummed in agreement and pulled on Boo's leash. ''Come on buddy,'' he yelled out. The dog looked up to his owner and started to run towards his owners.

''Do you think we should sign him up for some kind of training?'' Andy asked. ''Maybe we're already a little late for that actually. When do people normally do that?''

''I don't know,'' Sam answered. ''But I think we've got him under control, right?''

''I guess,'' Andy agreed. ''He does seem to listen to us. But should he know tricks or something?''

Sam laughed and shook his head. ''He's not joining the circus Andy. I think it's fine as long as he sits when we say so and if he stays in his corner when we say so. So far we trained him pretty well I think.''

''I don't know,'' Andy protested. ''I have never had a pet before. How should I know what is recommended en what is not. In movies they always do tricks.''

''Do you want him to do tricks?''Sam asked.

Andy thought about it for a second and shrugged her shoulders. ''Not really. Like you said, as long as he listens and doesn't use our floor as a toilet, we're good.''

''Good,'' Sam agreed. He noticed that Andy was shivering, so he pulled off his jacket to put it around her shoulders. ''Not as warm as you thought it would be, huh?''

''You don't have to do that,'' Andy protested. ''I don't want you to become cold too.''

''You know me McNally,'' Sam said as he looked around the park. ''I am always very, very hot.'' Andy laughed as a response to Sam's obvious double meaning. When she ran her hands up and down her arm to warm up quicker, Sam squeezed her hand. ''Want to head home?'' he asked.

Andy yawned and nodded. ''I hate coming off night shifts,'' she complained. ''Always messes me up a little.''

''If you're lucky I'll rub your feet when we get home,'' Sam offered.

Andy smiled and laid her head against Sam's arm as they walked towards his truck. ''I knew there was a good reason why I married you. Sometimes I think it was just your good looks, but then you say things like this.''

''Think you're funny, huh?'' Sam questioned. He was silent for a while and then he spoke up again. ''Not like I can say anything against that. I of course married you for your body too.''

Andy faked to be shocked and let go of Sam. ''You mean you don't care about my amazing personality?'' she wondered. ''Or my battle to make this world a better place?''

Sam thought about it for a while and then shook his head. ''Nope, just the body,'' he teased.

Andy crossed her arms across her chest and pouted a little. ''I don't like you.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed. ''You married me for just my body.''

''Not just that,'' Andy reluctantly said. ''Also because you are a nice guy.'' She didn't respond when Sam snorted. ''And because you're sweet. And because you always seem to know what I need, sometimes even before I do.''

Sam smiled and grabbed Andy's hand again. ''All this compliments all of the sudden. I'm not used to that coming from you McNally.'' That was kind of true. Andy and Sam both weren't overly sentimental people. There usually was an 'I love you' here or there, but that was about it. Both knew how deep their feelings were. They didn't need to profess it every day.

''You don't have anything to say back to me?'' Andy fished.

''Of course I do,'' Sam answered. After pausing for a second he smiled. ''Thank you.''

Andy groaned and took Boo's leash from Sam. ''You are awful,'' she said before running off. ''Come on Boo, Sam can walk home.''

Sam wasn't too worried and kept walking towards his truck in a steady pace. He knew that Andy wouldn't leave him behind.

When he reached his truck he smiled when he saw Andy on the ground petting Boo. She was tickling the dog behind his ear. Boo seemed happy to lay there and take it.

''Ready to go?'' Sam asked when he opened the door. Andy stood up and nodded at her husband. She helped Boo get in the truck and then got in the passenger's seat.

''I still want that foot rub,'' she demanded as Sam drove off.

He chuckled and nodded. ''Was counting on it.''

XX

**A/N: This chapter was just a little filler. Hope you liked it anyway.  
Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the new chapter. Hope you'll enjoy.  
I own nothing at all.**

**XX**

Three weeks later Andy woke up feeling incredibly weird. It took her two minutes to adjust to the light in the bedroom and then she felt the urge to throw up. She ran towards the bathroom and made it to the toilet right on time.

Sam followed and sat behind her as Andy emptied the contents of her stomach. When she finally felt empty, Andy flushed the toilet and tried to stand up. She felt a little lightheaded and was thankful that Sam was standing next to her to stabilize her.

''You okay?'' Sam asked concerned.

''Yeah, think I just stood up too quickly.'' Andy shook her head and reached for her toothbrush. ''God, I hate getting sick.''

''Were you feeling like this before?''Sam asked. ''It can't be anything you ate, we ate the same things.''

''It came out of nothing,'' Andy answered. ''I feel better now, maybe something was just bothering me a little.''

Sam suspiciously eyed her. He knew she would lie to him. The phrase _I'm fine_ was classic in the McNally dictionary.

''Seriously Sam, I'm fine,'' Andy said.

Sam chuckled because it felt like she could read his mind. ''Just take some rest today, okay? You have the day off anyway so don't go running around all day long.''

''Yes sir,'' Andy answered with her toothbrush in her mouth.

The rest of the day she experienced waves of nausea, but she didn't throw up anymore. The next morning started the exact same way as the day before though, so Sam made her stay at home. He was very determined, so there was no fighting him on it.

Andy stayed in bed for a day and the next day she felt a lot better. A week later she was throwing up again though. Sam had left for work early, so Andy was alone when she was emptying her stomach.

Andy opened a drawer to look for a washcloth, when she found a pregnancy stick that had been lying there for a long time her mind started to do some math and she came to the conclusion that she was late too. Angry tears filled her eyes, she hated her body for playing tricks on her.

Quickly she closed the drawer and walked back to bed. She needed to lie down before she could go in for work. She felt physically drained, but now that her mind was playing tricks on her too, she just needed a long hard cry.

Part of her wished that Sam was with her. His arms always made her feel a lot better. Another part of her knew that that was selfish. If Sam would know, he would be sad too. She had already put him through enough. If it wasn't for her, he would probably have been a father already.

His hurt was her fault, so she had to keep him out of this.

The next week Sam never saw her throw up, even though it happened every morning. That week she opened the drawer with the pregnancy stick again. Sam was eating breakfast with Oliver, so he was out of the house.

Andy knew she couldn't be pregnant, but she thought that maybe she should do that pregnancy test, just to get that message to her head as well. She knew she would be so disappointed again when there would be just one stripe on the test, but this uncertainty drove her crazy too.

With shaking hands she took the stick out of the box and took the test. She already had tears in her eyes before she looked at the stick, but when she saw a second line appear, she burst out in tears.

She already went through this once and she couldn't do it again. That first time she and Sam were so happy, only to be informed that the pregnancy stick gave her a false result. She took the test and made sure to cover it in the trash. She made sure that there was no way that Sam would ever get his hands on that test.

She debated her next move for a moment, but she figured she would probably go crazy if she went on like this. So finally she picked up the phone and she made an appointment with her doctor.

She was lucky, because another patient just dropped out.

An hour later she was sitting in front of the doctor. She explained her symptoms and told the doctor about the positive pregnancy test. The doctor told her they would do a blood test, just to make sure that they hadn't actually gotten their miracle.

Andy tried not to hope, but she couldn't help but get a little excited with the idea. The doctor would call her at the end of the afternoon with the results. For Andy that were the longest seven hours of her life.

''Hey,'' Sam said as he walked into the house thirty minutes after Andy had returned from the doctor. ''Where did you go?''

''Huh?'' Andy asked. ''I was here, why?''

''Your car was in the garage this morning, it's in front of the house now,'' Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

''Oh, yeah. We were out of orange juice and food for Boo, so I went out and bought some.'' Andy smiled weakly and returned to cleaning out the dishwasher.

Sam smiled and kissed Andy's cheek. ''You and your orange juice. I'll never be able to get it.''

''Are you sure you're okay?'' Sam asked Andy around five. She was a complete nervous wreck, but he didn't understand why. She was jumpy, kept checking her phone and she didn't seem to listen to a word he said that day.

''Huh?'' Andy asked again. ''Yeah, sure. Whatever you want.''

''What's going on with you?'' Sam asked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his voice a little. ''If something's wrong, just tell me.''

Andy realised her response was probably not fitting his question and sighed. ''Sorry Sam, sorry. I just have a major headache and it's been bothering me all day.''

''That's it,'' Sam said. ''You're going to the doctor tomorrow. It's not normal how often you are sick.''

Andy just nodded and didn't tell him she already visited the doctor that morning. She was sure that she would be disappointed again and she didn't want to put Sam through that too.

When they finished dinner, Sam told Andy to go relax in the living room while he took care of the dishes.

When her cell phone rang Andy almost jumped up and answered the call. ''Hello,'' she said.

''_Good evening Andy, this is doctor Masen,_'' her doctor's voice filled her ears. '_'I'm sorry that I'm calling this late, but I wanted to call you for myself_.''

''That's okay,'' Andy quickly responded. ''Did you get the results back? It was false again, right?''

''_Andy_,'' the doctor's voice stayed calm. '_'It looks like you got your miracle and congratulations are in order_.''

''What?'' Andy chocked out. ''Sorry, what?'' If she heard her doctor right, then that would mean that she was pregnant. And everything had been telling her that that would be impossible. That that wouldn't happen for them.

They had tried to get pregnant for over a year. They had known she wouldn't be able to get pregnant for more than a year now too. They had literally been trying for years. Her mind couldn't progress the fact that it happened anyway.

''_You're pregnant Andy_,'' the doctor confirmed. '_'We don't know how, but it happens sometimes. It looks like you and your husband are extremely lucky_.''

''I don't get it.'' Andy felt about a million emotions at the same time and wanted to cry, scream and jump at the same time.

''_I know you weren't counting on this,_'' the doctor told her. '_'But this blood test doesn't lie. You are pregnant. Now I need you to make an appointment with your OBGYN as soon as possible. We need to determine how far along you are. With your history she probably wants to keep a close eye on your pregnancy.'' _

''I..'' Andy said. ''I guess I just don't understand.''

''_The human body is a big mystery Andy, even for doctors. Sometimes things happen that we thought would be impossible. It turn out that you are one of those cases.''_

Slowly the news started to sink in a little and Andy's eyes filled with tears. ''Thank you,'' she said. ''Thank you, I'll make an appointment tomorrow.''

''_Congratulations Andy,''_ the doctor said again before she hung up.

Andy stayed on the couch, her heart was beating out of control and she couldn't help but cry.

When Sam heard her cry, he quickly walked towards the living room and pulled her towards him. Andy never cried unless something was seriously wrong, so he was worried. ''Andy, what's wrong?'' he asked as calm as he could.''

''I,'' Andy sobbed out. ''We thought it wouldn't happen, but now.. And we're already on that adoption list and now..''

''Andy, Andy,'' Sam tried to calm his wife. ''Try to take a few deep breaths, okay?'' Sam breathed along with her and rubbed at her shoulders. When she was a little calmer he made her look up to him. ''What's wrong?'' he asked.

''I went to the doctor this morning.''

Sam swallowed and felt the floor sinking underneath him. ''Are you sick?'' he asked. ''Why didn't you tell me you went? I would've gone with you.''

''I kept getting sick,'' Andy explained while she was still hiccupping from crying. ''And I didn't get my period. Then I decided to just check, to be sure. And I still had a pregnancy test in the bathroom.''

''Andy,'' Sam said sympathetic. He already knew how this story would end. Of course she took that test and now she was disappointed once again.

''It was positive Sam,'' Andy said finally able to smile a little. ''I'm pregnant.''

''Andy,'' Sam said again. He quickly pulled her to his chest and pressed a kiss to her hair. ''I love you okay, but we've been through this before. The last time the test was positive too.''

Andy freed herself from his grip and looked him in the eye. ''No, you don't understand,'' she tried to explain. ''I thought that too. So I went to the doctor and she just called me with the result.'' Andy blinked and finally smiled a big toothy grin. ''I'm pregnant,'' she repeated. ''The doctor said she didn't understand either, but she was positive that I'm pregnant.''

''What?'' was all Sam could say. ''Sweetheart, are you sure of this?''

Andy nodded and let out a combination between a sob and a laugh. ''We're going to be parents,'' she said. ''You're going to be a father.''

''You are sure?'' Sam asked one more time. When Andy nodded he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards his mouth. Their mouths met in a frenzied kiss and when they broke apart Sam knocked their foreheads together. ''God, I love you.''

''I love you too,'' Andy said. ''Thank you for making me a mother.''

''Thank you for making me a father,'' Sam responded.

Thankfully they were able to make an appointment with the OBGYN for the next week, because the nerves were killing them both. Andy kept throwing up, but she didn't complain about it. She just took it as a sign that their baby was still safe inside of her.

They agreed to not tell anybody about the pregnancy until they got the all clear. Sam did want to tell Frank, just so he could keep it in the back of his head when he handed out assignments. Andy was a little hesitant, but finally agreed when she realized it was for the sake of their baby.

_Their baby._

They both still couldn't believe it. They were both a little careful with being happy too. They needed to see a sonogram before they could completely believe that Andy was in fact pregnant.

When they were in the waiting room for the OBGYN they were both nervous. Sam tried to hide it, but Andy didn't even try. She couldn't sit still and sighed about every minute. Sam put his hand over hers to calm her, but nothing seemed to work.

''McNally-Swarek?'' a nurse called out into the waiting room.

Sam and Andy stood up and walked towards the office hand in hand. When they were seated the OBGYN smiled friendly. ''It's a welcome surprise to see the two of you,'' she told them. ''How have you been feeling?''

''Good,'' Andy said. As soon as the answer left her mouth she could feel Sam's eyes on her. ''Okay, tired, nauseated and a little emotional, but that's normal, right?''

''That's to be expected,'' the doctor confirmed. ''Do you have any idea how far along you are?''

''No,'' Andy answered. ''We thought this wasn't going to happen for us. So I haven't been focusing on my cycle at all.''

''Some people believe that not focusing on getting pregnant actually improves your chances of getting pregnant,'' the doctor smiled and shook her head. ''Of course there is no scientific proof to back that statement up.''

''It was a pretty big surprise,'' Sam confirmed. ''But we couldn't be happier about it.'' Sam squeezed Andy's hand.

''Okay, I have a few papers that I need you to fill out and after that we'll see if we can determine the stage of the pregnancy.'' The doctor handed Andy a few papers that she immediately filled in.

When every answer was written down, the doctor instructed for Andy to change and lie down on the table. ''We'll do a sonogram and then hopefully I'll be able to tell you a bit more. This might be a little uncomfortable.''

Sam had a tight grip on Andy's hand and had his eyes on her face. She looked okay now, but he was praying to God that the doctor had good news for them. He wasn't sure Andy would be able to handle another disappointment.

After a minute the doctor started to smile and pointed at the screen in front of them. ''If you look over here,'' she pointed. ''Then you can see your baby.''

''Sam,'' Andy said. ''Look Sam.'' Her eyes filled with tears once again and when she looked up she saw that Sam was smiling harder than she had seen him do since the day she married him. ''I'm pregnant,'' she whispered.

Of course she had known that fact, but to see their baby made it so much more real. Finally she was able to believe that she would be a mother. Of course there were still many things that could go wrong, but she didn't want to think about any of that.

The doctor kept looking at the screen and smiled. ''It looks like you're a little over six weeks now Andy.'' The doctor looked back at the screen and nodded. ''I can try to find a heartbeat, but if I can't find one, don't worry. It's not very common that the we can hear the heartbeat before seven or eight weeks, but we can always try.''

Andy closed her eyes while the doctor moved a few things. A few seconds later her ears were filled with the most beautiful sound she ever heard.

''There it is,'' the doctor said. ''You really have a special one there.''

Andy looked to her side and noticed that Sam's eyes were a little damp. He wasn't crying, but she never expected him to either. In all their years together, she never saw him cry. Right now he was definitely emotional though.

The doctor froze the screen and took the sonogram equipment with her. ''I'll give you two a second,'' the doctor said as she stood up and walked away.

''It's our baby,'' Andy said with the most amazing smile on her face.

''It is,'' was all Sam could say.

Andy looked back at the screen and blinked another tear away. ''Is it weird that I love him or her already?'' she asked. ''Even when we have no idea who it is or how it's going to be?''

''I love him or her too,'' Sam admitted. ''And I don't care about how it's going to be. To me he or she will be perfect.''

''I know,'' Andy agreed. ''We're so lucky.''

The next weeks were nerve wrecking for both of them. Every time Andy felt something she had to tell herself not to panic. Suddenly every sting she felt was a reason to worry.

Sam was worried too. He didn't want to let Andy do anything. If it was up to him, she would take a very, very early maternity leave.

Andy knew it was Sam's work when she never worked the streets anymore. Every day she was either on desk duty, working booking or helping the D's out. She loved him for caring and knew that the streets would put her and their baby in more danger, so she tried to not complain about it.

When Andy finally reached the twelfth week of her pregnancy, it felt like a weight was lifted off of them. Of course it didn't mean that nothing could go wrong anymore, but their chances were definitely better now.

When Andy was exactly twelve weeks and two days pregnant, she got put on the streets again. Dov and Gail were both out sick, so Frank couldn't miss Andy. As soon as parade was over, Sam walked to Andy and took her into an interview room. ''We're telling Oliver now,'' he said.

''Sam, it's going to be fine,'' Andy promised. ''I promise that I'll stay out of tricky situations.''

''You can't promise that and I need to know that Oliver keeps an extra eye on you. We said we would tell people around twelve weeks anyway, so what's the big deal?''

''You just want to drag him in here and say: 'Hey Oliver, Andy's pregnant so stay out of trouble?' That's insane Sam.'' Andy shook her head and stood on her toes to kiss Sam, but he stopped her.

''I need to tell him,'' Sam said again. ''I don't like the idea of you on the streets either way, but if Oliver knows than at least I know someone is protecting the two of you.''

''Sam,'' Andy reasoned. ''You know that Oliver has my back no matter what. Why do you think Frank put him with me in the first place? He only did that because he knows you would flip if he put me with one of the rookies.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed. ''But we would tell people at twelve weeks and I want to tell him now.''

Andy smiled. She knew Sam would do anything to keep her safe. His protective nature sometimes annoyed her a little, but ever since she was pregnant she thought it was adorable. ''If it makes you feel better.''

''I'll go get him,'' Sam said. Within two minutes he was back with Oliver. Oliver had a doughnut in his hand and looked a little confused.

''Not going to get in the middle of your marital bickering,'' he warned.

''It's not that,'' Sam promised. ''We need to tell you something.''

Andy walked towards Sam's side and looked up at her husband. ''I'm pregnant,'' she said with a smile on her face. ''And my husband is a little worried about me working on the streets.''

''What?'' Oliver said. ''I thought..'' Oliver knew about their problems to get pregnant. ''Congratulations,'' he quickly recovered. ''That's great news.'' Oliver took a few steps forward and hugged Andy tightly. ''Congratulations McNally.'' After that he gave Sam a man hug and clapped him on the back. ''You too brother.''

''Thanks,'' Sam said. ''We know it's unexpected and it came as a surprise for us too, but she's just twelve weeks now so it's safe to tell people.''

''I'll have her back Sam,'' Oliver promised. ''I'll keep them safe.''

''I know,'' Sam answered. ''I just feel better knowing that you know she's not the only one you need to worry about.''

Oliver and Andy walked out of the interview room together and when they reached the cruiser Oliver looked at his former rookie. ''I'm really happy for the two of you McNally,'' he said. ''I can't think of two people that deserve this more.''

''Thanks Oliver,'' Andy replied. ''It means a lot. I just hope everything will be okay with this baby.''

''You've got to keep some faith Andy,'' Oliver said as he started the cruiser. ''I know it must be difficult, but you have to at least try.''

Andy nodded and smiled. ''I know. I just don't want to disappoint Sam again,'' she softly added.

Oliver looked at her while shaking his head. ''McNally,'' he started.

''I know Sam didn't blame me,'' Andy quickly said. ''Somehow it just felt like I failed him. Because no matter what anybody said, it was my fault that he couldn't be a father.''

''Do you know what Sam said when he told me that you couldn't have kids?'' Oliver waited for Andy to shake her head and then he continued. ''He told me that it killed him that he couldn't give you what you wanted.'' Oliver paused for a moment and then looked at Andy. ''Sam is one of the most selfless people I know. He has made some mistakes in his life and during your relationship, but I can guarantee you that the only thing he wants is for you to be happy.''

''He deserves to be happy too,'' Andy argued.

''Sam is a simple guy Andy,'' Oliver said. ''He's happy when you are. And of course he was sad that it looked like it wasn't happening, but that was mostly because it was affecting you so much.''

Andy nodded and looked out of the window. ''I'm really lucky to have him,'' she softly said. She put her hand on her stomach and looked down, even though she wasn't showing at all. ''And our baby too.''

Because Oliver knew, Andy was dying to tell Traci too. As soon as she finished shift, she went into Sam's office. ''Are you finished yet?'' she asked.

''No,'' Sam answered. ''You can take the truck. ''I'll catch a ride with someone.''

''I wanted to go see Traci actually,'' Andy said. Traci was still on maternity leave, so 15th was down one detective. ''I want to tell her too.''

''Okay,'' Sam answered. ''Take the truck and text me when you're heading home, okay? I'll have dinner ready.''

''You're working late,'' Andy argued. ''I'm taking care of dinner.'' She quickly kissed Sam before he could argue and grabbed to keys to his truck. ''Love you, bye.''

As Sam followed his wife with his eyes, he couldn't help but smile. They really had gotten their miracle.

XX

**I know, it's a bit cliché.. I really wanted her to be pregnant though and in fiction anything is possible.**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter of the story 'Miracle'. Thank you so much for your reviews, they really do mean a lot. Reading the reviews keeps me motivated and sometimes reviewers leave valuable ideas. So thanks for all of that and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of this story!**

**XX**

_Andy woke up and took in her surroundings. She looked around and heard a machine beeping next to her head. When she turned her head a little she noticed that she was attached to a heart monitor. She tried to sit up, but was stopped when her stomach hurt like crazy._

_Quickly she pushed all the covers to the ground. She checked her abdomen, her tiny bump was missing. Andy's breath sped up as tears filled her eyes. She tried to get out of bed, but she was in too much pain. _

_After a few seconds she found a call button on her nightstand and she pushed it. Immediately a nurse came walking in. ''What happened?'' Andy said in tears. ''Where is my baby?'' _

''_Miss McNally,'' the nurse started quietly. ''You have had an accident at work, do you remember what happened?''_

''_I wasn't at work,'' Andy said. ''I was at home. Where's Sam?'' Andy looked around and tried to find her husband. If she or their baby was hurt he would be there. Of course he would be there. He was Sam, he was always there. _

_The nurse gave Andy a disapproving look and shook her head. ''Your husband will be here shortly.''_

''_Is my baby okay?'' Andy asked again. Without answering the nurse left the room, leaving Andy in a panic. She screamed for help, but no one came in to help her. _

_After a while Sam appeared in the doorway. ''All you had to do was keep her safe,'' he warned her. ''All you had to do was be safe. You couldn't even manage that. I was right, you are a horrible mother. Because of you my baby is gone.''_

''_No,'' Andy yelled. ''No, you are wrong.''_

''_All you had to do was be on desk duty,'' Sam said again. He gritted teeth and turned his hands into fists. ''All you care about is yourself. You put your own happiness before our baby's safety.''_

''_I would never,'' Andy said while she was on the verge of a panic attack. _

''_SHUT UP,'' Sam yelled. ''You are a terrible wife and a horrible mother. I don't know why I married you in the first place.'' _

XX

''Andy,'' Sam said as he shook her shoulder. ''Come on, it's just a dream. Wake up Andy.''

With a scream Andy sat up. Her breathing was labored and her hands immediately found her stomach. When she felt the small bump that was still there she closed her eyes and laid back down again.

Sam used one arm to lift his head and used the other to caress Andy's stomach. ''Which one was it this time?'' he asked. Andy had a few nightmares that were reoccurring. All of them were about losing their baby. That was Andy's biggest fear right now.

''Waking up in the hospital with you screaming at me,'' Andy answered truthfully. When the dreams first occurred she tried to keep them from Sam, but he knew every single time. Of course he found out. She was trashing around every single time and he was sharing a bed with her. ''It's all part of being pregnant,'' Andy promised. ''Traci said that she had them too.''

Slowly Sam pressed a kiss to Andy's temple while he continued to caress her stomach. He understood her dreams, because of course he understood her fear. It had taken them so long to get to this point and they would both go stir crazy if something happened to their miracle.

There wasn't much Sam could say to make Andy feel better, so he did the one thing that he knew always made her feel safe. He let her crawl to him as close as she could get. He let her rest her head on his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat. All the while he was tracing patterns on her arm and held his other hand on her stomach.

Fifteen minutes later her breathing was even again. Sam woke up the next morning in the exact same position. When he stirred Andy woke up too. Sam stretched his muscles and rolled to his side, facing Andy. ''You slept through the night after your nightmare?'' he asked.

''I did, stop worrying,'' Andy said with a small smile. ''It's perfectly normal for me to have nightmares.'' Andy smoothed her tanktop over her belly and laid down on her back. ''Did I get bigger?'' she asked.

''Is there a right answer to that?'' Sam asked insecurely. He didn't really know what she wanted to hear. Most of the time it wasn't a good thing to tell your wife that she was putting on a few extra pounds. In Andy's case it was the best thing ever though. They didn't expect they would ever have that.

Andy laughed and sat up. She straddled Sam's waist and leaned down. ''Just be honest,'' she said. ''I just want to know. I think I'm not really objective.''

''You're showing,'' Sam confirmed.

''Mmm,'' Andy murmured against Sam's mouth. ''You still going to want me when I look like a stranded whale?''

''Always going to want you,'' Sam confirmed. He gently pulled her down to him so he could kiss her. What he said was true, he was just as attracted to her as before. Maybe even more now.

They got a little bit carried away and a while later Andy broke away from Sam with a groan. ''We have to stop,'' she said in between kisses. Sam didn't listen and attacked her neck with his mouth. He sucked on the skin there. ''Sam,'' Andy tried to warn. ''Sam, we're going to be late.''

''You're probably on desk,'' Sam argued. ''Who cares. You know how that works.''

Andy laughed and rolled over to her back. Sam rolled on top of her, keeping his weight on his arms. ''Soon we won't be able to do this anymore,'' Andy said while Sam kept doing wonderful things to her neck and chest.

''Have sex?'' Sam asked as he raised his head a little. ''Dream on McNally.''

''No,'' Andy answered. ''Soon you won't be able to be on top of me. I'll get too big.''

Sam shook his head and grinned. ''Well, might as well enjoy it while we can, right?''

XX

''I heard congratulations are in order,'' Nick disturbed Andy right before parade. ''That's great Andy.''

Andy smiled at her old friend and gave him a nod. ''Thanks Nick.'' She looked down at her stomach. ''I guess there's no point in trying to hide it anymore, huh?''

''I think you only see it when you know,'' Nick said. ''In uniform you don't see anything at all actually.'' Nick paused a second. ''I kind of had a feeling when you were put on desk duty all the time.''

''Yeah,'' Andy said. ''Didn't want to take any risk, you know? I can't avoid working the streets all the time, but I asked Frank to put me at desk, in booking or with the D's as much as possible.''

''Makes sense,'' Nick agreed.

Sam walked into the parade room and saw Nick talking to Andy. He knew that Andy loved him and that she wouldn't cheat on him. He would lie if he would say her history with Collins didn't bother him though. Their relationship was short and kind of a fluke, but it still stung.

''Collins,'' Sam said as he sat down next to Andy.

''Swarek.'' Nick nodded at the detective and looked back at Andy. ''Congratulations, I heard about the pregnancy.''

''Thanks,'' Sam shortly said. ''Can I have a word with McNally now?''

''Sure,'' Nick looked at Sam and then at Andy. ''Congratulations again. You really deserve this Andy.''

''Thanks,'' Andy said as she watched Nick leave. ''You don't have to be so rude to him,'' she said to Sam as soon as Nick couldn't hear them anymore. ''He was being nice.''

''I wasn't rude,'' Sam defended himself. ''I was friendly and said thank you. And I did really need to talk to you about something.'' Sam turned slightly so he was completely facing Andy. ''Frank needs you on the streets today.''

''Oh,'' Andy said. ''That will be fine. I'll be careful, I promise.''

Sam took a deep breath and shook his head. ''Don't take any chances, okay? You don't trust something, you wait for backup. It's not just you you're looking after now.''

Andy sighed. ''You think I don't know that?'' she asked. ''You're acting like I'm some sort of imbecile who doesn't understand how lucky we are.''

''That's not what I said,'' Sam quickly replied. ''That's what you are making of it.''

''It's what it sounds like,'' Andy defended herself. ''I know, okay? I know that I'm known to jump into things head first, but not right now. Right now this is the most important thing.'' Andy put a hand on her stomach and moved it down. ''I know that, believe me.''

''Sorry,'' Sam apologised. ''I just worry, okay?''

Andy smiled. Sam could be kind of frustrating, but she couldn't help but find it adorable too. She knew he was just looking out for her best interest. If anything would happen that would hurt their baby, she probably wouldn't recover from it. Neither would Sam, Andy knew that too. Somehow both of their first instinct was to look out for each other. They were a perfect team in many ways.

''I worry too,'' Andy admitted. ''But we have to keep a little faith. Besides, this probably will be the only time we'll go through this. We have to at least try to enjoy it too.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed. When Frank started parade both of them turned their heads towards the front of the room. As soon as Frank was finished, Sam stood up. ''I have to go,'' he said. ''You be safe.''

''I will,'' Andy promised. She stood up to and quickly kissed Sam's cheek. ''You be safe too detective.''

XX

That night when Sam walked into their house, everything was dark and quiet. Sam and Andy had an unspoken agreement that if one of them would be home earlier than the other, that they would take care of dinner. Sam knew that Andy had to be home, but there was no sign of dinner anywhere.

''Andy?'' Sam yelled out. ''You home?'' He kicked of his shoes and walked into the living room. He stopped walking when he saw his wife on the couch. She was under a blanket and fast asleep. Boo was lying next to the couch, under the table. Sam checked his watch and knew he should probably wake Andy up. She wouldn't sleep during the night if he would let her sleep now.

Sam softly walked towards the couch and crouched down in front of Andy. He brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. ''Andy?'' he asked. ''Wake up.''

Andy's nose moved a little, but she didn't wake up. ''Andy?'' Sam said a little louder. He shook her shoulder gently and pressed a kiss to her forehead. At that Andy opened her eyes.

She looked a little disorientated and sat up. ''I feel asleep?'' she asked. ''What time is it?''

''Almost seven,'' Sam answered. ''Didn't want to let you sleep. Don't want you to be up all night.'' Sam stood up and sat down next to Andy. ''Did you do groceries?'' he carefully asked. ''Or should we order in?''

Andy shook her head. ''I was so tired. I thought I would go home, rest for half an hour and then go to the store. I did walk Boo.'' Andy yawned and snuggled closer to Sam. ''Sorry, I would've cooked. Didn't mean to fall asleep. I don't understand why I'm under a blanket, it's so warm.''

''It's fine,'' Sam promised. ''You probably needed it if you fell asleep that easily. Growing another person can take a lot out of you. I get that.''

Andy smiled and nodded. She knew that she would probably get away with anything at this point. Not that she fell asleep on purpose, she really was exhausted. ''I'll go to the store in a minute.''

''No,'' Sam argued. ''We have enough food for breakfast tomorrow and we'll order something for right now.'' Sam immediately grabbed his phone and placed an order. When he hung up he looked back at Andy. ''So, you ready to go see Sarah tomorrow?''

''I feel bad we didn't already tell her,'' Andy whined. ''We could've just called.''

''I thought it was you that said it would be way more fun this way,'' Sam answered. ''Besides, Sarah will be too happy to care.''

''If she gets mad I'll just blame you,'' Andy said as she let out another yawn. ''You'll take the fall for your pregnant wife, right?'' Andy gave Sam her most innocent smile.

Sam shook his head while his grin turned wider. ''I think you're using this against me,'' he stated.

''Of course I am,'' Andy confirmed. ''Get used to it. Soon baby and me will have you running around the house for every little thing. And I'll just sit here and get pampered.''

Sam laughed sarcastically. ''You would go crazy within a week,'' he told Andy. ''You can't even sit still for a minute.''

Andy sighed and laid down her head on Sam's chest. ''I love you,'' she said out of the blue ten minutes later. ''I love our life together. It's perfect.''

Sam hummed in agreement and was interrupted when their food got delivered. He stood up, went to the door and paid the delivery boy. When he got back into the living room, Andy had cutlery and plates on the table. They ate together while talking about their day. After that they watched some TV. Sam walked Boo while Andy showered. When he got back he jumped into the shower.

When he came out of the shower, there was no sign of Andy. Sam figured she went downstairs to grab something. So he laid down in bed already. He was tired, because he didn't get much sleep after Andy's nightmare.

It didn't take Sam long to fall asleep, but he was interrupted when Andy practically jumped on him. ''Sam,'' she yelled. ''Sam, you have to get up.''

Alarmed, Sam immediately sat up. Andy was straddling him, so sitting up wasn't such an easy task. ''What's wrong?'' he asked concerned. ''Are you okay?'' Sam gave Andy a quick check, but nothing seemed to be wrong physically.

''It's such a beautiful night,'' Andy said with a big toothy grin. ''Come sit outside with me.''

Sam groaned and let himself fall back on the mattress. ''Go to sleep Andy,'' he said without answering her question. ''We have to get up early tomorrow.''

''We don't,'' Andy argued. ''You want to leave early. We don't have to.'' When Sam closed his eyes again and ignored Andy, she shook his shoulder and let out a frustrated whine. ''Come on,'' she said. ''We live in the city Sam, we don't have nights with stars that often. Come see it's beautiful.''

''I'm good where I am,'' Sam said one more time. ''You should come to bed to instead of sitting outside. It's too cold.''

Andy sighed and shook her head. ''It's super warm,'' she answered. ''Come on Sam, it's romantic. You never want to come camping either.''

''We are not going to sleep in a tent when there are places with perfectly good roofs,'' Sam confirmed his disapproval for his wife's camping desires.

''And I've been supportive about that,'' Andy tried. ''We never went camping, we never go flying. Now all I ask of you is to come sit outside with me for a moment. It's really pretty tonight.''

A deep breath escaped from Sam's nose as he got his act together. He knew that Andy had a point. She had about a million ideas for trips they could take together. That was all shot to hell when Sam informed her that he was not going to sleep in a tent and that she would not get him on a plane without severe sedation.

Reluctantly Sam sat up again. The look on his face told Andy that she had persuaded him. Her smile got bigger and she knocked Sam back down as she kissed him fiercely. ''You will not regret this,'' she promised. ''It's so peaceful outside like this.''

Sam followed Andy downstairs and let out a yawn while doing it. He wasn't even in a bad mood anymore, her smile made it worth the lack of sleep.

Andy opened the door that led to the backyard and stepped outside. The backyard was basically the best thing about their entire house. Sam had spent a lot of time working on it, but it was perfect now.

Together they sat down on the small bench that Sam built himself. ''Look,'' Andy said as she pointed up. ''It is gorgeous, right? How many nights do we get like this?''

''Not many,'' Sam confirmed. ''It is beautiful.''

Andy smiled contently and laid down her head on Sam's shoulder. Their hands found their way to each other and they sat together in silence, just enjoying the moment. ''Have you thought about names?'' Andy asked suddenly.

''Not really,'' Sam answered. ''I figured it would be easier if we found out if it is a boy or a girl first.''

''I think it's a boy,'' Andy said. ''I just have this feeling.''

''You had a feeling it is a girl last week,'' Sam teased with a small smile on his face. He really loved his wife a dumb amount.

''I changed my mind,'' Andy said quickly. ''It just feels different, I don't know.'' Both fell silent until Andy broke the silence again. ''I can't wait until I feel the baby move.''

Sam smiled and kissed the top of Andy's head. ''Will happen soon enough.''

''I hope so,'' Andy said. ''I'm only fifteen weeks now. It could take a few more weeks. Gail said I'm already pretty big for fifteen weeks.''

''Don't listen to Peck,'' Sam warned. ''Everything will happen soon enough. You are barely showing as it is.''

''You said I was showing this morning!'' Andy said slightly offended. She pulled up her shirt. ''See, it's a bump, it's tiny, but it's there.''

Sam couldn't do anything but just smile again. ''I know what I said,'' he agreed. ''And you are showing a little bit, but right now it looks like you could've just eaten a big lunch.''

''You calling me fat detective?'' Andy asked with her eyes narrowed.

The look on Andy's face told Sam that she was just kidding. ''You're beautiful,'' he said either way. ''And you will still be beautiful when you can't see your own feet, when everything is swelling and when you're covered in sweat from hours of labor.''

''Something to look forward to,'' Andy mumbled. ''It will be worth it,'' she quickly added. ''Everything will be worth this.''

Time passed as they sat together in silence. ''Do you worry?'' Andy asked. ''We talk about me all the time, but you must have fears too.''

Admitting his weaknesses was not something that came easy for Sam. Over the years he had gotten better though. Opening up to Andy was one of the first things he worked on when they had just gotten back together. ''Of course,'' he answered. ''We've waited a long time for this.''

''What do you worry about?'' Andy tried. She wouldn't push if he wouldn't tell her, she just really wanted to know what was going on in his head.

Sam swallowed and took a deep breath. His fingers were tracing patterns on Andy's skin as he thought about what to say. ''Not being enough,'' Sam said after a while. ''Sometimes I'm afraid I'll lack as a father.''

Andy's heart broke when she saw the expression on Sam's face. For a moment she wished that she never brought up the subject, but she really wanted him to talk. She knew that he would never share stuff like this if she didn't ask. ''I have enough faith in you for the two of us,'' Andy tried to bring some comfort.

Sam kept staring into space as Andy scooted a little closer. ''We are not our parents,'' she kept going. She knew that that was his biggest fear, turning into his father. ''We haven't even met our baby yet and I already know that there's no way I'll even voluntarily leave him behind.''

''Or her,'' Sam said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

''Or her,'' Andy agreed. ''There isn't anybody that I feel safer with then you,'' she told Sam. ''You have never done anything to physically hurt me and I know that you would never do that. Not to me and not to our baby. You are not that guy.''

''I'm always going to fight to keep the two of you safe,'' Sam said with an unexpected tone in his voice. He didn't sound insecure anymore. Sam turned a little. He was facing Andy now and he cupped her cheek in his hand. ''You and this baby are going to know that I love you two every single day.''

''I already know,'' Andy answered as she laid her hand on top of Sam's. ''You're going to be an amazing father. You may have not had the best role model while growing up, but you have watched Oliver with his kids. You've seen Frank with Olivia and Mia.'' Andy swallowed. ''You saw Jerry with Leo,'' she added a little more softly. ''Role models don't have to be your parents. You've seen a lot of good examples.''

Sam lifted their joint hands and pressed a kiss to Andy's hand. ''We'll do great,'' he promised.

''We will,'' Andy agreed.

Sam saw Andy shiver and stood up. ''Ready for bed now Mrs. Swarek?'' he asked as he held out his hand.

Andy nodded and took his hand. ''Thanks for coming out with me.''

''Anything for you.''

XX

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Okay, so I'm having a little dilemma here.. Boy or girl? **

**Part of me wants them to have a boy because a mini Sam looks adorable in my head. **

**Another part of me thinks Sam with a little girl is adorable. **

**So I decided that you get to choose!**

**Just leave a message saying what you want the baby to be and most votes win!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow the response to the last chapter was enormous. I counted the votes and this is what it is up until now: **

**Twins – 23**

**Boy – 13**

**Girl – 14  
While I appreciate the idea, I was really asking for a gender. Twins are not in the plan, but thanks anyway.**

**They won't find out the sex until the next chapter, so if you would still like to know what you think, go for it!**

**I don't own anything, if I did Andy wouldn't be hooking up with Nick and Marlo wouldn't be in the picture at all. **

**XX**

''I love fries,'' Andy said as she took another bite of her food. ''Really love it. Why don't we go out to dinner here more often?''

Sam chuckled and shook his head. ''We are at a McDonalds McNally.'' Sam swallowed one of his fries and looked around the place filled with screaming kids. ''This is not going out to dinner. This is me giving in to your cravings.''

''It's fun here,'' Andy argued. ''You can just order, you don't have to wait for hours and the food is good.''

''The food is unhealthy.'' Sam checked his phone and saw that he had one text message from Oliver. It was nothing important, so he quickly put his phone away again. ''And there are a lot of screaming kids in this place.''

Andy smiled brightly and shrugged. ''This is your training,'' she said. ''If you can handle McDonalds on a Saturday than you can handle sleepless nights when our baby is demanding a diaper change, a late night feeding or just to be held.''

A smile instantly formed on Sam's lips. He was nervous as hell, but determined to be the best dad ever. When he thought about their baby he couldn't help but smile, it would be perfect. ''That's different. That will be our baby. When other people's kids do it it's annoying.''

''Miracle of life,'' Andy sighed. She slowly rubbed her stomach and looked at her husband. ''You gonna buy me some ice cream on the way home?''

''You are getting more demanding by the day.'' Sam threw his napkin on his tray and stood up. He held one hand out to Andy and used the other to lift the tray from the table. ''Come on wife. Let's see if we can get you home satisfied.''

Andy smiled and waggled her eyebrows. ''What are you suggesting to keep me satisfied?''

Sam pretended like he didn't know what she was getting at. ''You want ice cream, I'm going to give you ice cream.'' Sam would pretty much give Andy anything she wanted these days. She didn't have very high demands, but sometimes she would crave for specific food. Today she stormed into Sam's office after her shift, asking him how long it would take him to finish, followed by a demand to take her to McDonalds.

''My hero,'' Andy sighed out. ''What would I do without you?''

''You'd be nowhere.'' Sam quickly got rid of the trash and threw a protective arm around Andy's waist. ''What kind of ice cream do you want?''

''Cookie dough,'' Andy quickly responded. ''Or brownie.'' After a second she shook her head again. ''Maybe strawberry.''

Sam laughed as they made their way back to his truck. ''Okay, so basically a little bit of everything.''

''Will you still love me if I'm fat?''

Sam nodded. ''Sure.'' Andy really didn't have anything to worry about. Her cravings weren't out of control and she didn't gain any weight yet. Her stomach was definitely growing, but it was all baby.

''Then yes, a little bit of both.''

XX

''How's it going brother?'' Oliver asked when he walked into the Swarek household. Andy decided that she needed to talk baby with Traci, so Sam invited the guys over for a poker night. ''Feeling like you're going to faint every time you see your wife and look down at her stomach?''

''Something like that,'' Sam agreed. ''Still can't really wrap my head around it.'' He shook his head and looked at his friend. ''How did you do this three times?'' he questioned. ''If I think about everything that I can do wrong..''

''Stuff will go wrong,'' Oliver said immediately. ''One day you'll lose him or her in the supermarket and you'll feel like the lousiest parent in the world. One day you'll piss him or her off by saying something stupid and then they will tell you you are the lousiest parent in the world.''

''Thanks for the encouragement,'' Sam growled.

''That doesn't mean anything compared to those moments where you wake up on a Sunday with the two most important people in the world next to you. Or those moments where they are scared and all that can help them is their dad.''

Sam smiled and nodded. ''That's basically what Andy keeps telling me.''

''She's a smart girl.'' Oliver gave Sam a friendly slap on the back and walked towards the living room. ''It's a process Sammy. You'll both screw up, but you'll learn and grow.''

''There's just so much stuff I don't know. What do I do when Andy goes into labor? How do I know if the baby is crying because it needs a diaper change or because it's hungry? There are so many ways to go wrong.''

''Sam, Sam, slow down brother,'' Oliver warned. ''Everything will work out. When Andy goes into labor there's not much more you can do than drive her to the hospital and hold her hand. And when your baby arrives I promise you that you'll learn soon enough.''

''Just not sure if I'm father material,'' Sam said more to himself than to Oliver.

Oliver eyed his friend and shook his head. ''You are, believe me.''

''How do you know?'' Sam asked. ''What kind of experience do I have with kids anyway? I have babysat for Sarah a couple of times, but never when Abigail and Joshua were baby's. I know close to nothing.''

''I've seen you with kids. You're great with them. My kids loved you when they were young and so will yours.'' Oliver paused for a moment. ''It's really not that weird that you're insecure, I was too with Izzy. The first one is the hardest.''

''Great,'' Sam muttered under his breath. ''It's not that I'm not excited,'' he said after a moment. ''I am. It's just difficult to be happy when there are so many things that can go wrong.''

''Does Andy know any of this?'' Oliver doubted that Sam shared his insecurities with his wife. Despite the fact that Sam had come a long way when it came down to sharing his feelings, he would never be an open book. ''I mean, did you tell her about how you feel?''

Sam thought about it and shrugged. ''Some,'' he said. ''I don't know. We talked, but I don't want to burden her. She's probably worried too.''

''More reason to talk about it,'' Oliver reasoned. ''You'll both be great. Andy is always caring for everything with a heartbeat and you always care about everything Andy cares about. Besides, you've waited for this for a long time. It will work out just fine, I know it.''

''Thanks Oliver,'' Sam said. ''This probably is the most terrifying thing I ever did.'' Sam had spent years of his life undercover, but somehow this was more frightening.

Oliver nodded in agreement and smiled. ''Tell me about it. I think I spent Izzy's first week just checking if she was still breathing every two minutes. But it gets better.''

Sam raised his eyebrows and looked at Oliver. ''It gets better? Its better now that she's dating?'' Sam still remembered the first date Izzy ever went on. Oliver was a blubbering mess all night. Wondering if his little girl was getting a right treatment. At that time Sam thought it was funny, right now he could really sympathise with Oliver though.

''Ass,'' Oliver told Sam. ''You're an ass. I hope you get a girl. We'll see who'll laugh then.''

XX

By the time that Andy made it home everything was quiet already. She had a great time at Traci's and stayed way longer than she indented too. Traci loved the company too. It was a nice change considering the fact that she was still on maternity leave and didn't see too many grownups.

Andy smiled when she walked into their bedroom. Sam was snoring lightly, but still had his reading glasses on and had one of her baby books in his hand. She slowly walked towards him and sat down next to him on the bed. Softly she pressed her lips to his. ''Sam?'' she asked. ''Wake up.''

Sam stirred and slowly opened his eyes. ''What's wrong?'' he immediately asked. ''Are you okay?''

''I'm fine.'' Andy smiled because of Sam's concern. ''I can see that you find my book really interesting,'' she said with a raised eyebrow.

''Sorry,'' Sam said. ''I was really tired. I promise I'll read it some other night.''

''Don't.'' Andy shrugged and put the book away. ''I don't care if you don't know all of the details about pregnancy and giving birth. As long as you're there to hold my hand whenever the big moment arrives.''

''Wouldn't have it any other way,'' Sam said as he pulled Andy down on top of him. ''I have to admit that that book was a little too detailed for me.''

Andy laughed and kissed Sam's cheek. ''Even I thought it was too detailed. I think that giving birth is something that just needs too happen. You never know how it's going to go and when it's going to happen, so I might as well stay relaxed about it.'' Andy silently enjoyed the feeling of Sam's hands caressing her stomach for a moment. After a minute she snuggled closer to him. ''You had a fun night?'' she asked. ''I'm surprised the guys already went home. Still pretty early, you're getting old mister.''

''We are,'' Sam said without arguing. ''And some people have to work in the morning.'' Sam kissed Andy's forehead and nudged her nose with his. ''How was your night?'' he asked.

''Good!'' Andy smiled when she thought about her night. She had really enjoyed hanging out with her best friend. ''Trace and I looked at stuff for the nursery. Of course you totally get veto right, but we did print some pictures and stuff.''

''What kind of pictures?'' Sam asked.

''Well,'' Andy started. ''I was thinking of painting the nursery with soft colours. And then on one wall I would really like to paint animals. Traci and I found a few pictures that are so cute. It would look really nice.''

Sam kept his hands on Andy's stomach while she was telling him about her plans. ''We'll look at it tomorrow,'' he promised. ''But specific paintings are hard, not a lot of people can do those.''

''Gail can. It's sort of her hidden talent she doesn't want anybody to know about, but she's talented.''

Peck didn't seem like the painting type to Sam, but he figured he didn't really know the woman that well. ''Okay,'' he softly said. ''I'm sure I'll like it.''

''If everything looks good on the sonogram next week, then we can start.''

''It will,'' Sam tried to reassure Andy. ''It's our kid. He or she will be perfect.''

''This sonogram is basically the most important one.'' Andy avoided Sam's gaze and rolled to her back. ''They can catch a lot of things with this sonogram.''

Sam rolled to his side and forced Andy to look at him. ''It's going to be okay,'' he said once again. ''You feel good, you're doing everything you should do and the last sonogram was perfect.''

''The last sonogram was when the baby was basically a peanut. It's a small person right now.'' Andy absently traced patterns on her stomach and sighed. ''I'm nervous.''

''I know,'' Sam simply said. ''Me too, but we have to keep a little faith that everything will work out.''

''I have faith that it will work out.'' Andy tried. ''I wish we could just move that sonogram to right now. It will help a lot to know if everything is okay..'' Andy rolled over to her side to face Sam. ''I'm going to get ready for bed.'' She got up and walked towards the bathroom.

''Andy,'' Sam said she was just about to disappear into the bathroom. ''You will be the best mom.''

Andy smiled and gave Sam a small nod. ''We're lucky to have you.''

XX

The next morning Andy woke up when her phone started to ring. Confused she felt around the nightstand and grabbed her cell. She answered the call and yawned as she said ''Hello?''

''_Sweetheart,'' _Tommy's voice filled Andy's ears. ''_I'm sorry, but I can't make lunch today.''_

Andy sat up and checked the clock. It was still very early. ''Are you okay?'' she asked concerned.

''_I'm fine, fine. I just forgot that I have a meeting with this kid I'm sponsoring.''_

Tommy was really sober now. He hadn't had a drink in many years. Because he was doing so well he was trying to help others now and Andy was proud of him for it. ''That's fine dad,'' she promised. ''We'll see each other some other time this week. You're taking Boo tomorrow, right?''

''_Of course,'' _Tommy promised. The two made small talk for a moment until Tommy told Andy that he had to go.

As soon as she finished the phone call Andy crawled out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. She got rid of her pyjamas and stepped into the shower behind Sam. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his back. ''Morning.''

Sam turned around with a smile and leaned down to kiss Andy. ''To what do I owe this?'' he wondered. ''I figured you would still be asleep.''

''Dad called,'' Andy explained. ''He had to cancel for lunch.''

''Everything okay?'' Sam wondered.

''Fine, he just had a different appointment.'' Andy watched Sam as he opened her bottle of shower gel and poured some in his hand. He softly rubbed his hands over her shoulders, spreading the soap. He moved his hands down and started to rub Andy's stomach.

''Still feels surreal, huh?'' Sam asked with a smile. ''Does it feel weird?''

''My stomach?'' Andy asked as she turned around so her back was against Sam's front. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and hummed in agreement while still caressing her stomach. ''No,'' Andy answered. ''Feels wonderful.'' She closed her eyes to enjoy her husband's hands on her stomach. ''This feels nice too.''

''Let me wash your hair,'' Sam softly said as he grabbed another bottle. He slowly massaged the shampoo into Andy's hair and when everything was washed away he repeated the gesture with conditioner.

Andy moaned softly as Sam's hands continued to massage her scalp. His lips were next to her ear, so she could hear his breathing very clearly. She moved her head to the side a little. Sam got the hint and started kissing his way up her neck.

''As much as I hate to end this, I have to work,'' Sam reluctantly said.

Andy smiled, turned around and quickly kissed Sam. ''I know.'' They got out of the shower and quickly got ready.

Before leaving Sam gave Andy another chase kiss. ''Love you,'' he murmured against her mouth.

XX

Because Tommy cancelled their lunch, Andy didn't have much to do that day. She kept herself busy by cleaning the house and by starting to clean out the future nursery. They had used that room for storage mostly, but somehow it ended up in one big mess. Neither of them ever spend much time in that room, but now Andy figured it was time to clean the mess.

She started by sorting out boxes. She worked her way through the room and by the time it was noon she heard the doorbell ring. With a sigh she stood up. She wasn't expecting anybody, so she figured she was probably walking downstairs for nothing.

When she opened she was met with a familiar, yet unfamiliar face. ''Hello,'' Andy said. ''How can I help you?''

''I was wondering if Samuel was at home?'' the middle aged man asked her. He was looking at her with his brown eyes and his gaze made Andy feel slightly uncomfortable.

''He's not,'' Andy said. ''He's working. If you don't mind, I've got plans so I've got to go.''

The man completely ignored Andy and nodded at her stomach. ''Congratulations, how far along are you?''

Andy's hand immediately found her stomach. This man was really getting on her nerves. ''Excuse me, but who are you?'' she asked.

''I'm so sorry,'' the man apologised. He held out his hand and smiled. ''I'm William Swarek. I'm Sam's father and I'm assuming I'm your father in law.''

Andy didn't know what to say and took a step back. William dropped his hand when he figured Andy wasn't going to shake it. ''Sam isn't here right now,'' she quickly said. ''I think it's best if you leave us alone. Goodbye sir.'' Andy tried to close the door, but William forced it open again.

''I just want to know how my son is doing,'' William begged.

''Sir,'' Andy said firmly. ''If you don't leave now I will call the cops. Please stay away from us.''

William took a step back and shook his head. ''I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to know how my family is doing, please?''

''It's not my place to tell,'' Andy answered. ''I'm sorry,'' she added before she closed the door.

Andy spent the rest of the day frantically cleaning the house. Afraid that William would turn up on her doorstep once again. She knew she had to tell Sam about it, but she hated the fact that she had to bring his father up.

When Sam walked into the house that night, he found Andy in the kitchen cutting up vegetables. ''Hey,'' Sam smiled when he saw his wife. ''House looks clean and smells like you've had a busy day.''

''Yeah,'' Andy absently said. ''Dinner won't be ready for a while.''

''That's fine,'' Sam said as he looked at his wife. ''Are you okay?'' he wondered.

''Yeah, sure,'' Andy said too quickly. She quickly finished with the vegetables and rinsed her hands clean.

''You're lying,'' Sam stated. ''What's going on? Are you not feeling okay?''

''I need to tell you something.'' Andy took a deep breath and faced her husband. ''And you won't like it, but I know that I have to tell you.''

Sam immediately thought of all the things that Andy could tell him that needed this kind of introduction. His heart beat sped up a little and he gave Andy a small nod, willing her to continue.

''I was cleaning the house when the doorbell rang,'' Andy started. ''There was this guy at the door. I guess a guy in his fifties? I sort of got a weird vibe from him and he was asking about you..''

''Who was he?'' Sam immediately asked. ''Did he do something?''

''Sam!'' Andy stopped him. ''He said he's your father.. William Swarek?''

''What?'' Sam practically yelled. ''What the hell was he doing here?''

Andy shrugged and looked helpless. ''I don't know. He said that he wanted to know how his family is doing. I send him away. At first he refused to leave, but when I told him that I'd call the cops he left pretty quickly.''

Sam snorted and looked up to the ceiling. ''Yeah, he's not a big fan of cops. Cops aren't a big fan of him either actually.'' Sam shook his head and gritted his teeth. All the anger that he had been bottling up for many years was threatening to come out. ''Did he lay a hand on you?''

''No,'' Andy softly said. ''I just got a weird vibe from him, that's all.''

''If you ever see him again, you call me and I'll deal with him.'' Sam looked like he wanted to punch something, but stayed perfectly still.

''Sam..'' Andy tried. ''Are you okay?''

''I'm going out for a walk. I'll take Boo with me.'' Sam grabbed the dog's leash and grabbed the keys of his truck from the counter he left them on just a few minutes before.

''Sam,'' Andy said again. ''Please don't just run out on me right now.''

''Just going for a walk.''

''Dinner will be ready within a half hour.'' Andy looked at the stove and the dinner she knew would go to waste.

Sam shrugged and yelled out to Boo. ''I'll heat it up later.''

Without looking back he walked out of the door with Boo. Leaving Andy in their kitchen, wondering if there was anything she could have done differently. Wondering if there was any way to protect her husband from all the pain he was feeling right now.

XX

**A/N: So a visitor that disturbs Andy and Sam's perfect little bubble. **

**Next up: The sonogram that will tell us if they are having a boy or a girl.**

**Let me know what you want!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the next chapter! I counted the votes and hope you'll enjoy this chapter even if it wasn't what you voted for! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love reading the reviews, they make my day!**

XX

Andy nervously sat around waiting for Sam to come home. She didn't know if she did the right thing by telling him his dad stopped by, but she figured that he had to find out some way. Sam would probably flip out if he found out any other way than directly from her, so in her gut she knew she made the right decision. It didn't feel like the right decision though. Especially when two hours passed without any word from Sam.

She tried to call him, but didn't want to seem to needy. So when he didn't pick up she didn't try again. She knew he wasn't an open book. She knew he would talk to her whenever he was ready. For Andy that was difficult though. She needed to know that he was okay.

Another twenty minutes passed before Andy heard a key in the lock. She sighed with relief and petted Boo's head when he came running in.

A few moments later Sam entered. The frown on his forehead indicated that he was still pissed. ''Sorry I left like that,'' he apologised. ''Just needed some air.''

''It's fine,'' Andy lied. She knew that being married to Sam meant dealing with situations like this. He needed space from time to time and the only option she had was to give it to him. Experience pointed out that he didn't deal well if he wasn't given some space.

''I hate him,'' Sam said after another second of silence. ''The thought of him anywhere near you pisses me off.''

''I can look after myself.'' Andy stood up and walked toward him. ''Nothing is going to happen to me.''

''It's not just you I have to worry about anymore,'' Sam placed a hand on Andy's stomach and slowly rubbed up and down. ''If anything ever happens to either of you..'' Sam shook his head and looked down on his hands that were still on his wife's growing bump. ''That guy is bad news Andy. You have to stay away from him.''

''I send him away,'' Andy explained. ''I know how you feel about him and I told him to leave.''

The frown on Sam's face didn't go away. He still looked as concerned as he did when he left the house with Boo. ''Are you okay?'' Andy softly asked. ''Is there anything I can do?''

''There's not,'' Sam answered. ''Just stay safe.''

XX

_They had been back together for about four months when Sam started to tell Andy things about his family. It had been small stories at first. How he taught himself how to ride a bike. How he used to read books every night in his room, just so he wouldn't have to spent any time with his parents. _

_As talkative as Andy normally was, she stayed quiet during the times Sam shared things with her. She knew he had to talk without her interrupting and asking questions. A big part of their reunion was based on the fact that they learned when to back off. Andy knew she had to give Sam space. _

_One late night Sam told her about his parents. Andy was on her stomach with her head on his chest. Sam was on his back while one hand was steady on her back. His other hand was tangled up in her hair, absently playing with it. _

_Sam coughed and closed his eyes before telling his story. ''I didn't have the best childhood,'' he admitted. ''Didn't have the best role models.''_

_Andy turned slightly so she could look at Sam's face. He wasn't looking at her, but had his gaze on the ceiling. ''I never met my dad until I was six,'' Sam continued. ''He was in jail for an armed robbery.'' He let out a sarcastic laugh. ''When I first met him I was happy. Thought my life would become a little bit more normal. A little bit more like those of other kids my age.''_

''_It didn't,'' Andy guessed. _

''_Not really no.'' Sam swallowed. He kept playing with Andy's hair. ''My mother wasn't exactly stable during that time either. She pressed charges for domestic violence a few times before he went to jail, but she never followed through on the charges.''_

''_She stayed with him all that time?'' Andy questioned. She never got how people could stay with someone who hurt them, but in their job they saw it all the time. _

''_Well.. technically she stayed with him, but she wasn't exactly faithful judging by the number of strange man that passed the house. I don't remember much of it. I was too young, but Sarah told me later.''_

_Andy stayed silent and wondered how it was possible that Sam turned into such a good guy with the examples he had. He had his flaws, but she never questioned his fidelity nor was she ever afraid of him physically hurting her. _

''_The court decided that she couldn't handle us. Sarah and I were sent into foster care. We were placed in different houses at first, but later they placed us in a home together.''_

''_That must have been really hard.'' Andy's heart was breaking for Sam. Even though it happened all those years ago she knew that it still got to him. She knew she still felt the pain from when her mother left her and her father. _

_Sam shrugged. ''Like I said, don't remember that much of it. Things at home weren't that great either, so I think I didn't mind that much at the time. Anyway, when my dad got out of jail the court revaluated our situation. There was a shortage of foster parents so we were placed back at home.''_

''_Were you scared?'' Andy wondered. ''I can't even imagine how it feels to not be safe at home.''_

''_Not at first,'' Sam answered. ''At first it wasn't even that bad. Sometimes I could hear them fight though at night. I always went to Sarah's room whenever they were at each other's throats.'' _

''_You've always been close with her?'' Andy had finally met the famous Sarah Swarek just two months before. The two of them hit it off right away and Andy was happy to see that Sam had someone who always looked out for him, even if Sarah lived two hours away from him. _

''_We only had each other.'' Sam sighed and went to lay on his side facing Andy. ''I knew my dad was hitting my mom. I saw the bruises on her every now and then.''_

''_She never did anything against it?'' Andy questioned. _

''_Not even when he turned against Sarah,'' Sam admitted. ''The night of Sarah's..'' Sam took a deep breath and finished his sentence. ''The night of Sarah's attack she ran away from home because they were fighting again. Dad locked me in the tools shed because I dropped a plate during doing the dishes.''_

_Andy could see that Sam was struggling, so she placed a comforting hand on his chest. Sam wasn't looking directly at her, but Andy got that that was too hard for him. He kept her close though. His hands never left her body. _

''_Sarah was obviously messed up afterwards. I tried cheering her up, but I had no idea what was going on. One night when I was fifteen Sarah was having a panic attack. I heard her crying and went downstairs. When I got there I saw dad pushing her up against the wall, he had his hands on her throat. Telling her she was pathetic and could never hold herself together.''_

_Tears started to form in Andy's eyes. She knew Sam's childhood wasn't perfect, she guessed that much from little things he told her. She never imagined it was this bad though. _

''_I pushed him away from her and got in a few good punches. So did he though. Sarah wanted to call the police, but he threatened her and I guess she was too scared to do something. Somehow he always got away with everything he did to us. Sarah left a month after that. She had just turned eighteen, looked for a job and decided she was better off alone. She wanted to take me with her, but she couldn't care for me. Not in her state. And I wasn't the easiest teen either.''_

''_That's no wonder,'' Andy defended him. ''Every kid would struggle going through that.''_

''_My mom never did anything to stop him. It was as if she was happy he turned his anger to someone else. I started to mess up on purpose. Spend a few nights in jail, just happy to be out of the house. Got close to the wrong people. You know how it goes.''_

_Somehow that didn't surprise Andy either. Sam always had a bad boy attitude and was never one to follow the rules by the letter. By the way he dealt with kids that were on the wrong side of the law, Andy always thought he may have had some experience on that side as well. _

''_I was caught when I was selling stolen car parts one day.'' Sam let out a humorless laugh. ''I didn't even use the money for anything. I just wanted to be part of something. But I got caught and Charlie, the cop that arrested me, was a nice guy. He showed me that I could be better.''_

''_Your old T.O.'' Andy knew the story of Sam's T.O. He had shared that story with her shortly after their reunion. _

''_Yeah.''_

_Things turned quiet. Sam closed his eyes and Andy kept staring at the man she loved. He looked older, worried. ''I love you,'' Andy whispered. ''I'm glad you were able to share that. I know that's not easy on you.''_

_Sam opened his eyes again and smiled faintly. ''I've wanted you to tell you before. Just didn't know how.''_

''_I know now,'' Andy simply said. She gave Sam a simple kiss and leaned back. _

''_The thought of ever turning into him..'' _

''_Don't,'' Andy stopped him. ''You are nothing like that Sam.''_

''_Everybody has a dark side,'' Sam continued. ''I thought Charlie was a good guy. I thought that he was kind and fair. Good. Before I knew it I was trying to cover up a murder for him.''_

''_But you didn't.'' Andy hated the fact that Sam was worried about becoming like his father. _

''_Because he stopped me.'' Sam turned back on his back and moved away from Andy. ''If it wasn't for him I would have put away those files. I would have covered it up.''_

''_You can't know what would have happened. Maybe you would have changed your mind.''_

''_It doesn't change the fact that he killed someone,'' Sam went on. ''The person I used thought of as my role model killed someone.''_

_Andy propped herself up on one elbow and leaned over Sam. She refused to let him shut her out just after he started letting her in. ''That doesn't change who you are.''_

_Sam still refused to look at her and blinked up at the ceiling. _

''_Sam,'' Andy forcefully said. ''Even during our worst moments, you were the one I called when I needed someone. Only because I know that you'll always be there to protect me. I have never, ever been afraid of you.''_

''_I have a temper,'' Sam went on. ''You never know when that will get the better of me.''_

''_I don't worry about that for a second,'' Andy quickly said. ''Not a moment. I know that you will never hurt me. We've put each other through hell, but you never laid a hand on me.''_

_Sam swallowed and mirrored Andy's position. He was facing her again and cupped her cheek. ''Promise me something.''_

''_Anything.''_

_He used his hand to brush her hair from her face and kissed her gently on the forehead. ''If there ever is a moment where you are afraid of me, tell me.''_

_Sadness washed through Andy. She moved in so she and Sam were chest to chest, nose to nose. ''That isn't going to be an issue. I trust you with my life Sam. I know you will never hurt me.''_

''_When we have kids I don't want to turn out like him.''_

_Surprise filled Andy's eyes, but she quickly composed herself. Sam never mentioned kids before. She was somewhat shocked to hear him utter those words to her now. ''You won't. I know you won't. Whenever we have kids you will be the best father you can be, I'm sure of it.''_

''_You have a lot of faith in me.'' Sam's hand found hers and he gave it a small squeeze. ''I love you.''_

''_I love you too.'' Andy slowly moved in and kissed Sam's lips. They would be fine. Together. _

_XX_

That night Andy found herself alone in bed. Sam was in the bathroom getting ready for bed while she was already propped up against the headboard. Sam had apologized again for running out on her, but Andy had told him that she understood that he needed some space.

All of the sudden Andy felt a clear kick to her hand. She had felt some slight flutters before, but never anything like she felt in that moment. ''Sam,'' she yelled. ''Come quick.''

Within three seconds Sam was beside their bed. ''What's wrong?'' he asked with a concerned look on his face.

With the biggest smile ever on her face Andy took a hold on Sam's hand. She guided it to her stomach. ''Wait a second,'' she instructed.

It took a minute, but then there was another kick. ''Is that?'' Sam asked. ''Wow.''

''I know,'' Andy smiled. ''Wow this feels so weird.''

''Doesn't it hurt?'' Sam felt the movement against his hand and couldn't even imagine how it would feel if that happened inside of you.

Andy shook her head and grinned wider. ''Feels amazing.'' Together they stood next to their bed, both having their hands on Andy's stomach. They enjoyed the moment where they felt the first kicks of their little baby.

After a moment the kicking completely stopped. ''Wow,'' Sam said again. ''I love him or her already.''

''Me too,'' Andy agreed. ''I think this is a side of love I never felt before. I mean, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl and here I am with tears in my eyes because I felt him or her kick.''

Sam gently helped Andy back into bed and pressed a kiss to her stomach. He laid down next to her and closed his eyes for a second.

''I know you don't want to talk about this, but what do you want to do about your father?'' Andy carefully asked. ''What if he comes back?''

''Then I'll make sure he'll stay away for good.'' Sam linked their fingers together and placed their hands between their pillows. ''It will be okay.''

''What will you do?'' Andy knew that Sam wouldn't take this lightly. In his eyes his father was a potential threat to their family. And if there was one thing Andy was sure of, then it was that Sam would always protect his family.

''You don't have to worry about it. I'll deal with it.'' Sam rubbed his free hand up and down Andy's side.

Andy was slightly worried after that comment. ''Sam. You can't do anything against him, okay? We'll keep him outside of our house, but you can't do anything else.''

''It will be okay,'' Sam promised. ''I called Sarah to warn her too. If he shows up there she'll call me.''

''Promise me you'll stay away from him,'' Andy demanded. ''I get that you want to protect us, but if he doesn't do anything you can't start anything either.''

Sam clenched his jaw. ''You don't understand Andy.''

''I'm trying to,'' she simply said. ''But you are the one that has things to lose here and if he's anything like you've told me than he's aware of that. Don't let him mess anything up for you.''

A sigh escaped Sam's lips and he rubbed his hand across his face. ''I'll try. Not because he deserves it though.''

''Thank you.'' Andy slowly moved in and gave Sam a lingering kiss and repositioned his hand on her stomach again. She loved feeling his hands on her stomach since the day she found out she was pregnant. ''We both love you.''

XX

A few days later it was finally time for the sonogram that would tell them if their baby would be a boy or a girl. Andy woke up that day and felt butterflies in her stomach. She was excited to see their baby again, but she also knew that they could tell a lot more about their baby's health from this sonogram.

She slowly rolled to her side and faced Sam. He was on his back snoring lightly. He had a two days worth of stubble on his face and looked absolutely gorgeous. Andy didn't know what had gotten into her, but lately every time she saw her husband she wanted to jump him.

She decided to let him sleep though. She knew he was still struggling with his dad and hadn't slept well the previous days. Andy slowly slipped out of bed and took a shower. After she finished she got dressed and went downstairs to make breakfast.

When everything was done she went upstairs ago with a cup of coffee in her hand. She didn't drink coffee anymore for the baby's sake, but Sam always had a cup before he left the house.

''Sam,'' she whispered just above his ear. ''Wake up.''

Sam stirred and slowly opened an eye. He immediately yawned and stretched out. ''Time is it?'' he asked as he rolled to his side.

''It's nine,'' Andy answered. ''So you need to get up, shower and come have breakfast with me. We need to go in forty five minutes.''

Sam flipped back to his back and sat up. He took the cup out of Andy's hand and pulled her down so she sat down next to him. He pressed a kiss to her hair and took in her sent. ''You showered already.''

''Yup, was up early.'' Andy laid her head on Sam's shoulder and closed her eyes.

''You nervous?'' Sam wondered. He knew he was. He didn't even care about the sex of the baby. Boy or girl would both be fine to him. As long as they would hear that he or she was okay. He could picture a little girl that looked just like her mother, but he could also imagine himself with a little boy playing basketball and watching hockey.

''A little,'' Andy admitted. ''Just hope everything is okay, you know? Are you nervous too?''

''It will be okay,'' Sam said, avoiding her question.

''I hope so,'' Andy sighed out. ''I am excited too. It's been a while since we've had a sonogram. Can't wait to see the baby again. Hear the heartbeat.''

Immediately Sam's lips curled up in a smile. He always thought it was idiotic how people could get excited about hearing a heartbeat, but now that it was their child's heartbeat he got it. ''Boy or girl?'' he asked.

''Boy,'' Andy said. ''Had a dream it was a boy that looked just like you. I really think it's a boy now.''

''You change your mind every two days,'' Sam argued. ''But I guess we'll find out soon enough. Unless he or she is feeling a little bit shy today.''

Andy nodded and yawned. She stretched her arms in the air and got off the bed. ''Get up Sam. It's time to move,'' she told him. ''Can't be late meeting our little one, can we?''

Sam quickly showered and ate some of the breakfast that Andy prepared for him. As soon as everything was cleaned up they moved to the truck and got in.

While they were in the waiting room Andy was nervously tapping her fingers on her thigh. Sam noticed it and grabbed a hold of her hands. ''Stop,'' he said. ''We'll be fine, okay?''

Andy smiled up at him and took a deep breath. When their name was finally called she stood up, never losing grip on Sam's hand.

When they were seated in the doctor's office Sam softly squeezed Andy's hand.

''So Andy,'' the doctor started. ''How have you been feeling since the last time I saw you?''

''Good,'' Andy said. ''Everything feels great actually.''

''Morning sickness?'' the doctor asked.

''Is gone,'' Andy filled in. ''It started to fade away after my twelfth week. So basically by the book I guess.''

''It is,'' the doctor smiled. ''Have you felt the baby move yet?''

Andy couldn't help but smile as she thought back to that wonderful moment just a few days ago. ''Yeah, we felt the baby on Monday. I was in bed and all of the sudden I just felt it.''

''Feels amazing, huh?'' the doctor said. She turned to Sam. ''You felt it too?''

''I did,'' Sam confirmed. ''It was great.''

''Any other complains or things that concern you?'' the doctor asked the two of them. When both responded negative the doctor did a few quick tests. Andy passed every single one of them with flying colours and then it was finally time for the sonogram. Andy laid down on the table and took a hold of Sam's hand again. ''This is going to feel a little cold,'' the doctor instructed.

She squirted some gel on Andy's stomach. After a minute she started to point out things on the screen. They got a perfect view of their baby's head. ''Is it sucking on his thumb?'' Sam wondered when he looked at the picture in front of him.

''Yes.'' The doctor smiled. ''A lot of baby's do that.'' She continued with the sonogram and kept explaining things to Sam and Andy. ''Okay. Looks like someone isn't shy. Do you want to know the sex of your baby?''

''Yes,'' Andy said before she even finished her sentence. ''I'm dying to find out.''

''If you look here,'' the doctor pointed out. ''You can see that you are having a baby boy.''

Tears formed in Andy's eyes and she looked at Sam who was still staring at the screen. ''Boy,'' he said. ''You sure?''

''I'm not allowed to give you any guarantees,'' the doctor warned. ''But I can't imagine being wrong in this case.''

''Of course,'' Sam grinned. ''He's my son.''

Andy swatted his chest and quickly apologized. ''And everything else looks good?'' she nervously asked. The doctor didn't give any indication that something was off, but she needed to ask anyway.

''Again, I'm not allowed to make any promises. But I can't see any reason for why this baby won't be completely healthy.''

Both Andy and Sam thanked the doctor and waited for her to print some pictures of their baby. When they were in the truck again Sam waited a moment before starting the engine. ''You happy?'' he asked.

''Couldn't be happier.'' Andy smiled at him. She tried not to cry, but her emotions were all over the place since a few weeks. She sniffled and leaned in to hug Sam. ''He's healthy.''

''I know,'' Sam whispered as a pressed a kiss to her temple. ''You're both doing okay.''

''Are you happy it's a boy?'' Andy wondered.

''I wouldn't have cared either way,'' Sam answered truthfully. ''All I care about is that you're both healthy and happy.''

''We are,'' Andy smiled. She quickly dried her tears and let out a content sigh. ''We really are.''

XX

**So, most votes were for a boy! It was a really close call though.**

**Boy – 30**

**Girl – 26**

**Hope you're still enjoying this story. I know I'm enjoying writing it!**

_**Next up: Sam's dad isn't gone yet. How will Sam react when they're face to face?**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews!**

**I know I'm not updating as frequently as I used to do, but life is just really busy at the moment! I can at least guarantee that I will finish all my stories, because I hate it when I'm invested in a story and it never gets updated again. So I won't do that to you guys!**

**XX**

The next week Sam was standing in front of the parade room talking about his latest case. He was instructing the uniformed officers, but he had trouble focusing on what he was saying. When parade started he didn't think too much of Andy not being there. They drove to work together so he knew she was in the building. It happened more often that she got caught up in a conversation and missed the first minute of parade.

Not the entire thing though.

As soon as everybody was dismissed Sam turned to Gail. ''Peck,'' he asked. ''You saw McNally?''

''Saw her in the locker room,'' Gail answered. ''Didn't see her coming out though.''

Sam quickly walked out of the parade room and towards the female locker room. When he entered he saw his wife sitting on a bench in front of her locker. She was wearing her uniform, but the buttons were still open.

''You missed parade, what's wrong?'' Sam said as he made his way towards Andy.

She sniffed and whipped her nose with her right hand. ''I can't work,'' she said.

''Why not?'' Sam wondered. Normally he would be worried when Andy was crying. She wasn't someone who cried over nothing. The hormones were getting to her though, so he was getting used to it.

''I don't fit into my uniform anymore,'' she softly said. Andy demonstrated it by trying to close one of the middle buttons, but like she said it didn't fit. ''And the pants don't fit anymore either.''

''Andy, you're pregnant. You're suppose to grow out of your clothes.'' Sam really didn't see the issue. The only place Andy really gained weight was on her stomach and that was to be expected.

''I've been wearing my jeans with the button undone for two weeks,'' Andy sniffed. ''It's really uncomfortable. ''

Sam smiled because of how ridiculous his wife was being. ''We'll go out and buy you maternity clothes,'' he promised. ''Your body is changing. It's only natural.''

''Maternity clothes are ugly,'' Andy spat out. ''They make people look fat.''

Sam had trouble not to burst into laughter. He knew if he did that Andy would probably throw something at him. She never was like this, but hormones really did crazy things to her. ''Sweetheart,'' he tried.

''Don't sweetheart me,'' she warned. ''You only use that word when you think I'm being ridiculous. And I'm not. It's not fun to not be able to tie your own shoelaces. And soon I won't even be able to shave my legs and then you won't be attractive to me anymore and you'll leave me for someone else.''

By the time Andy was done Sam was shaking his head. He thought a little drama was funny, but now she was really going too far. ''Andy,'' he warned. ''I get that you're emotional and I know you don't like your body right now. But I never gave you any reason to believe that I will cheat on you and I won't.''

A snort escaped Andy's nose and she let out a sarcastic laugh. ''You say that now,'' she said. ''But what about when I'm too tired, grumpy and uncomfortable and we won't have sex anymore. Ever. And then all of the sudden you are always 'working late' and I'm sitting at home being fat.''

''Andy,'' Sam warned.

When Andy didn't respond but kept her gaze on the floor Sam crouched down in front of her. ''Hey,'' he said while he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. ''I love you okay? And I'll always think you're beautiful. 10 pounds extra, 20 pounds extra, 40 pounds extra, I don't care.''

Andy let a few more tears fall and sobbed. ''God, you must hate me. I'm such a bitch.'' Andy whipped away her tears and took a deep breath. ''My emotions are all over the place.''

''Sarah already warned me for that,'' Sam responded. ''Apparently it's all part of the deal.''

Andy leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Sam's lips. ''Sorry,'' she apologised.

''Lucky for you I promised you forever, huh? Sickness, health, cheerful or moody.''

''I'm lucky,'' Andy agreed. ''I still don't have anything to wear though. Seriously, how can I grow this much in a few days?''

Sam stood up again and held out his hand for Andy. ''Good thing your husband prepares for everything. Follow me.''

Andy looked confused, but took Sam's hand. She followed him into the male locker room and waited when he opened his locker. After a few seconds Sam pulled out an old uniform and handed it to Andy. ''The pants probably won't be too comfortable, but with your belt you should be able to make it work. And the shirt will just have to do for today.''

''Why do you still have this?'' Andy asked confused. ''I thought you're supposed to give these back when you're off the streets.''

''Well I kept it,'' Sam answered. ''Don't even know why, but it comes in handy now. Just wear these for now. If you ask Frank he can order you a maternity set. They do have those, you know?''

Andy rolled her eyes and took the uniform from Sam. ''I know. I just really hate those.''

''Did you ever wear them?'' Sam shot back.

''No,'' Andy reluctantly agreed. ''Still, they look so.. big.''

Sam took a step forward and cupped Andy's cheek in his hand. ''You're gorgeous,'' he said. ''Always have been always will be.''

''You can be really sweet sometimes,'' Andy said as she gently kissed Sam. ''Good thing I'm always on desk duty. Nobody misses me there.''

Sam and Andy both took off to their own desks. Around lunch time Sam looked up from his desk and saw his wife standing in front of him with a brown bag in her hands. ''Brought you lunch,'' she said. ''Sorry about this morning.''

''It's okay,'' Sam answered. ''I get it.''

''It's not okay,'' Andy argued. ''You're being so sweet and then I go off and say things to you that are really bitchy.'' Andy shook her head and handed Sam a sandwich. ''I would do anything for this baby, you know that right? I would do all of this ten times over and I would gladly gain another 50 pounds if it would mean he is healthy. I would do absolutely anything.''

''I know Andy,'' Sam assured. ''Of course I know. You're a good mom already.''

Sam paused for a moment and looked at his wife. ''I get all of that, I do,'' he continued. ''But it's not okay for you to question if I'm faithful to you when I've given you no reason whatsoever to think otherwise.'''

''Sam,'' Andy interrupted him, but Sam put up his hand to silence her.

''I've never and I will never cheat on you. You are all I want.''

''I know, I'm sorry,'' Andy apologized. ''And it's not that I question you, I really don't. It was a bitchy thing to say and I've got no excuse.'' Andy stood up and looked around the D's office. Everybody was either out on a call or away for lunch, so she used the opportunity to drop down in Sam's lap. ''Sorry for being a bitch.'' She paused for a moment and then shook her head. ''Why would you even cheat? I'm already such a handful.''

A smile formed on Sam's lips as he kissed Andy's cheek. ''That you are,'' he answered. You are forgiven. This sandwich really helps with that.''

Andy laughed and slapped his chest. ''Dork.'' She leaned into Sam and closed her eyes for a moment. After a moment she backed off and sat down on her own chair again. ''How's work?''

''Fine,'' Sam said. ''It looks like we're finally making some headway with the Scott-case. Might be able to close that case this week if all goes well.''

''You hear that buddy?'' Andy asked with a hand on her stomach. ''Daddy is locking up all the bad guys before you come into this world.''

Sam smiled at the mention of the word ''daddy.'' It still felt surreal to him, but somehow it was the best thing that ever happened to him at the same time. ''Well, probably not all of them, but we will be able to get some scumbags of the streets.''

''Our hero,'' Andy said with a big grin on her face.

''And how's desk duty treating you?''Sam asked back. He knew Andy mostly hated it, but she didn't complain too much about it.

''It's super exciting,'' Andy sarcastically said. ''Just an hour ago I was on the phone with an eighty year old woman that wanted to report her cat as a missing person. When I told her I couldn't do that I got to listen to a thirty minute rant about how all we care about is money, weapons and drugs. We are no longer there for the little people. You know, back in the day police officers still had time for everyone.''

''Back in the day everything was better, huh?'' Sam wondered. He took the last bite of his sandwich. ''But good to know you're having fun.''

''Having a blast,'' Andy said. They staid seated like that. Talking to each other about little things. When they finished their lunch Andy stood up and cleared Sam's desk. She leaned down to give Sam a kiss and headed back to her desk.

An hour later Sam's cell phone rang. He answered it without looking at the number. ''Swarek.''

''Sam dear?'' the voice on the other line asked. ''I'm sorry to disturb you while you're working.''

Sam checked the number and saw it was his neighbor on the phone. Mrs. Davis was a 72 year old widowed woman who sometimes watched Boo for them. She didn't have any kids or close relatives so she enjoyed helping her neighbors.

Andy felt sad for the woman and genuinely liked her too. Mrs. Davis became like a substitute grandmother for them. On nights when Andy was alone she sometimes invited the older woman over for dinner. Sam sometimes did little chores for her and they just kept an eye out for her.

''That's okay Mrs. Davis. Is something wrong?'' Sam asked. He gave his phone number to her in case she ever needed any help with anything or in case something was wrong with Boo whenever she watched him. She never actually called though, so Sam knew something was up.

''It might be nothing, but two hours ago a car was parked in front of your house. The guy that drove it knocked on your door a few times, but then went back to the car. He's been there ever since.'' Mrs. Davis paused for a moment and then continued. ''Maybe it's nothing dear, but it just gave me a weird feeling.''

Sam immediately grabbed a notepad and a pen. ''That's okay Mrs. Davis. Is there any chance you've seen the license plate? Or do you know what he looks like?''

''I think he's in his late fifties or early sixties. He has dark hair, but is starting to grey. I haven't seen the license plate, but I can look that up for you.''

''Don't go anywhere near him,'' Sam warned. From what Mrs. Davis told him he didn't like what he was hearing. A normal person wouldn't wait in the car for two hours to wait until someone got home. Sam wasn't going to take any risks, especially not since Andy would probably get home before him.

''I can see the car from my bedroom,'' Mrs. Davis informed Sam. ''It's no trouble.'' When Mrs. Davis got the license plate Sam ran it through the system and thanked his neighbor for looking out.

When he saw whose car was in front of his house Sam's blood started to boil. The car was named to William Swarek. That was a name Sam hoped he never would cross paths with again. Sam took a deep breath and looked out of the window in his office. He saw Dov coming in with a cuffed suspect .

Sam knew what to do and grabbed his jacket. He walked out of his office and towards booking. He preferred to take Oliver with him, but he knew that his friend had the day off. ''Epstein,'' he said when he walked in. ''Your partner can take it from here, you're coming with me.''

A confused look crossed Dov's face, but he quickly snapped out of it and gave Sam a small nod. ''Of course, where are we going?''

Sam didn't answer, but just walked out of the booking area. When they were in the parking lot Sam stopped in front of the cruiser. ''We're going to my house,'' he said. ''You will not do or say anything. You are only coming with me to stop me from doing anything stupid.''

''What's going on?'' Dov wondered.

''I promised Andy I wouldn't do anything stupid, but I have to protect my family. Can you understand that Epstein?''

Dov had no idea what Sam was talking about, but he understood the concept of protecting his family. Since Chloe had given birth to their baby girl he understood that concept better than ever. ''Of course,'' Dov answered. ''But sometimes you can protect them better by thinking before acting.''

Sam knew he was acting on anger and not on rational thoughts, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to end this once and for all. ''Dov,'' Sam said, not entirely used to using the young man's first name. ''My neighbor just called me to tell me my father has been waiting outside my house for the last few hours. If you would know anything about my father you would understand why that's a threat to my family.''

All Dov could do was nod. He didn't know the story behind Sam's family. When there were hardly any relatives of Sam at the Swarek wedding, Dov assumed that Sam's parents passed away.

The drive to the house was made in a short period of time. As soon as the car came to a stop Sam jumped out of the car and walked towards his father's car. Dov stepped out to, but kept his distance, unsure of what to do.

Sam opened the door of William's car. William smiled and got out immediately. ''Sammy,'' he said. ''It's been so long. You look good son.''

''I'll tell you this once, so you better listen carefully,'' Sam said through gritted teeth. ''You get the hell away from my house. You stay away from my wife. You stay away from Sarah and her family. We'll never see you again. Do you understand that?''

William looked down at the ground and shook his head. ''I'm your father Sammy. I have made some mistakes, but nothing can ever change that.''

''I've been fine without you for the past twenty years. I'll be fine without you for the rest of my life too.'' Sam opened the car door a little bit further and stepped back. ''Now get in your car and get out of my life.''

''I only want to talk to you,'' William tried again.

''I have nothing to say.'' Sam avoided William's eyes and kept his jaw clenched. He wanted to keep his promise to Andy, but if it was up to him he would have punched William's lights out already. All he could do was keep picturing Andy. He knew she would be disappointed if he would let his temper get the better of him.

''I saw your wife,'' William began. ''She's beautiful. Saw you have a child on the way too. Now you can maybe try to imagine how I feel right now.''

At the mention of Andy's name Sam reached his boiling point. He grabbed William and shoved him against the car. ''You leave her alone. If I ever see you near her..''

Dov was still by the cruiser, but when he saw Sam grabbing William he took a step forward. He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and broke the two up. ''Sir, maybe it's best if you go and keep your distance,'' he advised William. ''Detective Swarek made it clear that he doesn't want to see you so I suggest you respect that wish.''

''We need to talk,'' was all William had to say.

''Go home,'' Dov replied.

William looked between the two men and stepped into his car after a moment. Without looking back he started the engine and drove off.

''You okay?'' Dov asked as he glanced at Sam.

Sam's hands were still closed as fists and he was breathing heavily. He watched as William drove off and only looked back at Dov when he couldn't see the car anymore. ''I'm fine,'' he lied. ''Let's go back to the station.''

Dov took place behind the steering wheel, sensing that Sam was too wired up to drive. When they were on the road for a few minutes Sam cleared his throat. ''You did good,'' he told Dov. ''You've come a long way since your first year.''

That compliment meant a lot to Dov. Even though he wasn't that insecure overachieving young rookie anymore, he still cared for what his superiors thought of him. ''Thank you.''

''There was a reason why I picked you to come with me. Five years ago I would have gone alone and the situation probably would have gotten out of hand.'' Sam thought about how much he had changed in a few years. How much he had grown really. He knew he had Andy to thank for that.

''It's different now,'' Dov agreed. He glanced sideward's at Sam and noticed his confused look. ''Now that I have Chloe and Jen my priorities have shifted.''

Dov parked the cruiser at the station's parking lot again. Sam looked at him and gave him a small nod. ''Thanks for this.''

''Anytime,'' Dov assured.

XX

Sam made sure that he got out of work early. He didn't want Andy going home alone, because he didn't want to risk her running into William again. Sam hoped he took his advice and stayed the hell away, but with William you never knew for sure.

When Andy walked out of the locker room she looked surprised to find Sam leaning against the wall. ''Hey,'' she said. ''You off already?''

''Wanted to go home with my wife,'' Sam avoided her question. He took her hand and quickly placed a kiss on it. ''Besides, we drove here together.''

''Like that ever stopped you before from working till late,'' Andy teased. ''But you deserve an early night. You've been working really hard lately.''

They walked outside hand in hand and Sam gave Andy's a small squeeze. ''If I put in some extra time now I can stay home longer after you've given birth.''

''That would be nice too,'' Andy agreed. ''I will sleep while you change him, feed him and rock him to sleep. Sounds like a plan to me.'' Andy smiled and looked at Sam. ''You know that's only fair. I'm basically doing all of that now.''

''Smartass,'' Sam commented. He tried to smile, but the day was still playing in his mind. He knew he had to tell Andy about it, but he wasn't looking forward to that. He wanted to do that before they got home though, just in case William was back.

When they reached the truck Sam motioned to the back. ''Can we sit for a moment?''

Andy looked at her husband and nodded. ''Sure,'' she answered. ''Something wrong?''

Sam helped Andy to get seated and then sat down next to her. ''Mrs. Davis called me this afternoon,'' he started. ''She said that there was a car in front of our house for quite some time. Apparently someone was watching the house.''

''Why didn't you tell me that?'' Andy asked concerned. ''Do you know who it was?''

''I ran the license plate,'' Sam admitted. ''It was William again. I went to the house.''

''What happened?'' Andy wanted to believe that Sam did the right thing. She knew that William pissed Sam off, but she also believed that Sam would try to keep his promise to her.

Sam shook his head and looked down. ''He said he wanted to talk. I told him to stay away from us. Stay away from Sarah. Don't come near any of us ever again.'' Sam took a deep breath and placed a hand on Andy's knee. He softly rubbed his hand up and down her leg, needing the contact for a moment. ''I took Epstein with me,'' Sam admitted. ''Just to prevent me from doing anything I shouldn't do.''

Andy covered Sam's hand with hers and squeezed it. ''I'm glad you did that,'' she admitted. ''What else happened?''

''He mentioned you,'' Sam continued. ''Told me that he saw you. Told me that I should understand his feelings now that I'm about to be a father.''

Andy could feel her heart break when she saw the look on Sam's face. He always was the strong one, but this situation was killing him. He hated William and seeing him again brought back the feelings that he kept buried deep inside for years.

''I shoved him to his car, but Epstein stopped me. He told William to leave to and after a moment he did.''

''Do you know what he wanted?'' Andy asked. ''Why search for contact after all those years?''

''Mind games Andy,'' Sam immediately said. ''The guy is a psychopath. All he ever did was based on power and money.''

They were both quiet for a moment. Andy leaned forward and kissed Sam sweetly. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. ''I'm proud of you,'' she whispered. ''I get that this is really hard for you, but you did the right thing.''

All Sam did was nod. He attached his mouth to Andy's again and deepened the kiss.

When Andy shivered Sam broke the kiss. He gave her one last small kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. ''Let's go home,'' he said.

XX

**So another chapter done!**

**To think that this was intended as a two shot. **

**I hope you still like the route I'm taking this story, please review if you've got anything to say!**

_**Next up: What happens if William goes to see Andy again. Will she listen to what he has got to say?**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the next chapter, hope you're all still with me on this one!**

**XX**

Sam was glad to see that there was no sign of William when they reached the house. He hoped that his message got through to him and that he would stay away for good. No matter what he had to say, Sam would never be able to make amends with him.

When Sam walked into their bedroom later that week, Andy was sitting against the headboard. She had her eyes closed and her hands on her stomach. Sam could hear her humming and he couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of him.

He walked towards the bed and lowered himself to the mattress. ''What are you doing?'' he asked.

Andy didn't answer but just grabbed his hands and positioned them on her stomach. ''Feel,'' she simply said.

Sam immediately felt the movement against his hand. Their son was kicking up a storm.

_Their son. _Sam couldn't wrap his head around that little piece of information. No matter how many years they had been waiting for it, it still baffled his mind. He knew he would do anything for his child. He knew he would love their son more than he loved his own life. He already did, but the feeling was still overwhelming and scary.

''I can't believe that doesn't hurt,'' Sam told Andy. ''It feels like he's kicking you with everything he's got.''

Andy laid her head down on Sam's shoulder and sighed contently. ''Best feeling in the world,'' she whispered. ''Sometimes it's a lot of pressure, but I love feeling him move inside of me.'' Andy turned her head a little and waited until Sam got the hint and gave her a kiss. After he gave in she laid her head back down. ''We have to start on the nursery.''

''We have time,'' Sam calmly said. ''You are only six months.''

''Only six months?' Andy asked with a frown. ''That means the baby could technically arrive within like twelve weeks. Do you know how much work it costs to decorate a nursery? I started with cleaning out the room, but there is still so much crap in there. Seriously, I don't even know why we kept all that stuff.''

''I believe it was you that told me that it might come in handy one day.'' Sam had his eyes closed and ran his hand up and down Andy's arm. ''Apparently you were wrong.''

He was right. When they had moved into their house Andy decided that they should keep a few things that they didn't necessarily need right away. A few things turned into a lot of things and before they knew it they had an entire room that was used for storage.

''Yeah well whatever. You need to clean it out,'' Andy said.

''I need to clean it out?'' Sam protested. ''I think the person that created the mess should clean it out.''

''I would,'' Andy reasoned. ''But I figured you would get a little bit angry if I would bring that desk downstairs on my own. Or my old closet. I made a start, but all that is left is heavy and big.''

Sam smiled faintly and pressed a kiss to Andy's temple. She knew him too well. He really didn't want her to do any lifting, especially not while walking down the stairs. ''I'll get Oliver to help.''

Andy nodded and sighed contently. ''I'm happy,'' she said. ''Who would have thought we would be here? Married and lying in bed feeling our baby boy kick.''

''Not me,'' Sam replied. ''I mean, you aren't even my type, remember?''

Immediately he felt a slap to his chest. ''Watch your words mister,'' Andy warned. ''Unless you want to get reacquainted with the couch tonight.''

Of course Sam knew she was joking. In all the years they were living together he never once slept on the couch. There had been fights. They even went to bed angry a few times, but Andy didn't believe in putting her husband on the couch. In her opinion he had just as much right to sleep in the bed as she did. ''Hey, don't feel bad,'' Sam joked. ''You grew on me.''

''I grew on you?'' Andy asked. ''You were ready to take me home the first night after we worked together.''

''Shame you didn't want to come,'' Sam answered. ''I think we would have had a lot of fun that night. Better than going home alone.''

''I'm glad I didn't come.'' Andy snuggled closer to Sam and turned serious again. ''I mean, it would have been great, don't get me wrong. Still, I'm glad we were friends first.''

''I know,'' Sam agreed. Even though he never was just _friends _with Andy, he got what she meant. She had trust issues, just like him. The road to where they were now hadn't been easy, but it probably would have been more difficult if they would have jumped into bed together that first night.

''I could sleep like this,'' Andy whispered against Sam's neck. ''This is so relaxing.''

''Why don't you close your eyes for a few moments?'' Sam tried. He knew she had been sleeping poorly because the baby started to become active as soon as she laid down.

Andy shook her head and kissed Sam's neck. After that she stretched out and got off the bed. ''I'm suppose to meet Traci in thirty minutes. We're going to do some shopping.''

''Again?'' Sam wondered. Andy and Traci had been looking for furniture for the nursery more than once. He already told her he liked the ones she liked too. From his point of view that meant that they should buy it.

''For clothes,'' Andy cleared up. ''You were right. Walking around in these jeans is just dumb. They are uncomfortable and I'm only bothering myself with them.''

Sam hummed and complied when Andy leaned in for a kiss. ''Make sure we can still afford food after you come home.''

''Haha very funny,'' Andy replied. ''I'm not going to buy much. I can borrow shirts from Traci, all her maternity shirts are still practically new. It seems kind of useless to buy a complete wardrobe for three months. Trace and I don't have the same jeans size though, so I just need some of those.''

''It's fine. Spoil yourself a little. You deserve it.'' Sam stood up too while he let out a yawn. ''Will you be home for dinner?'' he asked.

''Yup,'' Andy answered. She put on a vest and put on her sweetest smile. ''You want to cook tonight?''

''Italian?'' Sam guessed. He knew all of her cravings and Italian had become very popular in a few weeks time. When Andy nodded he smiled. ''It will be done by six.''

''I knew there was a reason why I kept you around.''

XX

The next week Andy was walking through the barn when one of the rookies approached her. ''Officer Swarek?'' she asked.

Andy looked at the rookie and smiled friendly. Unlike her husband's tactics with rookie's she liked to be nice to them. ''Yes Prince, what's wrong?''

''I'm working the front desk today. There is someone here to see you, but he said he's here for personal reasons.''

Andy's radars started to spin and she frowned. That didn't sound like a normal visitor and she had no idea who would look for her here. Most of the people that might look for her had the power to let them self into the station. ''Do you have a name?'' Andy wondered.

''He told me he was your father in law. He wants to talk to you in person.''

For once Andy was thankful that Sam and her were working opposite shifts. She knew that Sam would go ballistic if he knew that William was seeking her out at work. She debated what her best move was. Part of her wanted to tell Prince to send William away, but that meant he would probably come back on another day. It didn't look like William was giving up anytime soon.

''Do you know where officer Epstein is?'' Andy asked Prince.

''He's working with the D's today,'' Prince informed her. ''I believe their going over some old case.''

''Front desk busy?'' Andy wasn't sure that her plan was the right one, but she needed to do something to stop William's actions.

''No ma'am. We've had a pretty slow day so far.''

''Okay. You go to the D's office and tell them that I need to borrow officer Epstein from them. You take over for him and let Stevens handle the front desk alone for a while.''

Prince immediately went towards the D's office, happy to not be tied to the front desk anymore. Only a minute later Dov come out with a concerned look on his face. ''What's going on?'' he asked when he reached Andy. ''Are you okay?''

Andy dragged Dov into an interrogation room and sighed. ''Okay, I need this to stay between the two of us, okay?''

Dov nodded with a confused look on his face. He knew things were serious if Andy was looking this concerned. ''What's going on Andy?"'

''I know Sam took you to our house last week when his father showed up. And I realise that this isn't professional, but he showed up here now too. I need him to stay away from us, so I'm going to talk to him.''

''Andy, are you sure that's a good idea? I didn't get the impression that Sam would be too happy about this.'' Dov had been on the force long enough to be able to read people. The look on Sam's face when William had mentioned Andy was enough to know that Sam wouldn't want his wife anywhere near that man.

''He won't be, but I'll talk to him. I just need you to watch from the viewing room. Whatever happens in that room stays in that room, you understand that? This isn't something Sam likes to talk about.''

''This is something Swarek would kill me for,'' Dov corrected Andy. ''If he knows that I let him talk to you..''

''Then he'll know that you had my back, like I asked you too. Look, normally I would probably just go talk to him on my own, but it's not just me I have to take care of anymore.''

''More reason to stay away from him Andy. I don't know what kind of guy he is, but Swarek's face was enough of a sign to know that he is very bad news.''

''You'll be in the next room. The moment he comes too close you'll be with me within a second. You with me?''

Dov thought about it for a moment and then gave a short nod. He knew Andy well enough to know that she would go through with it either way. If she was doing this he wanted to make sure that she would come out unharmed.

With a deep breath Andy nodded towards interrogation room one. ''That one is free. I'll bring him in.''

''Andy, if he makes a wrong move...''

''Then I won't hesitate to bring out pepper spray or my taser and you'll be with me within a second.'' Andy sounded confident, but secretly she was nervous too. Confronting the man who was responsible for her husband's crappy childhood wasn't something she liked doing. She knew how badly Sam was hurt by William.

She made sure to keep her face straight as she walked towards the front desk. She looked serious and determined. Like a woman on a mission. When she saw William she felt herself getting angry, but she kept herself from lashing out immediately.

''William Swarek,'' she said. ''Come with me.''

She turned back around without another word. When they were in the interrogation room she looked at the window. It was a comforting thought that one of her friends was out there to have her back. She didn't want to get them involved in something as personal as this, but Dov already knew little bits about it because of Sam. So Andy figured this was okay.

''I'm so glad you'll let me talk to you,'' William started.

Andy lifted her hand to silence him. ''I'm only doing this because you won't leave us alone,'' Andy shot back. ''Say what you've got to say and then leave Sam alone. He doesn't want you in his life.''

''I'm his father,'' William tried. ''I'm your baby's grandfather.''

''It takes a lot more to be someone's father than DNA.'' Andy crossed her arms in front of her chest. ''You had a shot to be a father, you blew it. Now you want to be a piece of his life? What do you want from him?''

''I just want to get to know my son,'' William repeated. ''He's my family.''

''Why now?'' Andy asked. She thought it was a little bit suspicious that William showed up after more than twenty years of absence. ''What changed.''

William chuckled sarcastically and sat down on the chair that was in the room. ''What hasn't changed?'' he wondered. ''You and Sammy been married for long?''

''I'm not here to talk about me and Sam,'' Andy answered. She was using the tactic that Sam taught her. Never let your suspect get close to you. Never give away more about yourself than you absolutely have to.

''He and Sarah probably don't even know that their mother died a few months ago, do they?'' William shook his head. ''Sometimes you have got to lose everything you have in order for you to realise what is important.''

Sam hadn't seen his mother in years either, so Andy knew that he wouldn't know about her passing. If William was speaking the truth that was. ''Sometimes there is no room for forgiveness,'' Andy said. ''Sometimes people are hurt too badly to forgive and forget.''

''I know I made mistakes,'' William said.

''Mistakes?'' Andy asked. Tears filled her eyes and she cursed the damn hormones that were raging through her body. ''You call beating up your kids a mistake? Locking a six year old in a dark and cold tool shed isn't a mistake. That is a crime.''

''I was punished for that,'' William shot back. ''I did my time. You don't realise how hard it is to come back to your old life. To come home to a wife and kids. No job. Nobody wants to hire a lowlife that just got out of jail.''

''Maybe you should have prevented going to jail in the first place.'' Andy's tone was cold. No matter how much pity William felt for himself, all she saw was the man that hurt her family. The man who was to blame for the heavy weight her husband was carrying on his shoulders.

''You don't know what it's like,'' William said, his voice growing a little colder too. ''Just wait until it's your kid that needs to be taught some manners.''

''Some manners?" Andy took a step back. William hadn't touched her, but it felt like he slapped her in the face. ''You teach your kids manners by setting an example. All you did was humiliate them, making them feel worthless. Unloved.''

''They didn't do anything to earn it.''

''What?'' Andy asked out loud. ''You are supposed to love your children unconditionally. They shouldn't have to work to earn it. That's not how it works. But clearly you have not learned a damn thing. So I suggest you leave and never come back. Sam doesn't want anything to do with you.''

William stood up and took a step forward. Andy took one step back. Dov was in the room with her before she even knew it. William wasn't making any moves towards her anymore, but Dov wasn't taking any risks.

''You heard the lady,'' Dov said. ''Get out sir.''

''Wait,'' William shouted. ''I have cancer. I only have a few more months to live. I just want to spend some time with my family.''

Andy didn't know how to respond to that so she just opened the door and walked out. She watched from a distance as Dov escorted William out of the building. He came looking for her as soon as William was gone.

''You okay?'' he asked.

''Do you believe him?'' Andy didn't know what to believe when it concerned William. Everything inside of her was screaming that he was a liar. That he spend all of his life playing tricks on people. Hurting good and innocent people. But why come back now after all these years. What did he have to gain.

''I don't know,'' Dov said. ''Maybe you should go home Andy. This is something you and Sam have to talk about.''

Normally Andy wouldn't go home for anything. She loved her job and she was dedicated to it. She was more dedicated to her husband though and she knew she needed to tell him everything William had told her. ''I just need to look something up,'' she answered. She walked towards the computer and started to type. After a few minutes she found what she was looking for.

Sam's mother had indeed died a few months before. Officially she was still married to William, so it made sense that he was aware of her passing. The authorities probably informed him about his wife's death. Even if they had been split up for many years now.

''He was right about Sam's mom,'' Andy told Dov when he joined her. ''She passed away a while back. Maybe he really is sick too.''

''You should probably go talk to Sam.'' Dov put a hand on Andy's shoulder and squeezed it. ''Just tell Frank you're not feeling so well. We are overstaffed anyway.

Andy nodded and looked at her friend. ''Thank you Dov, for being there. Also for being there when Sam needed you. It means a lot.''

''Always Andy. You would do the same for us.'' Dov stood up. ''I'll take you home. Go talk to Best and go change.''

Sam had brought her to work that morning so Andy was thankful for Dov's offer. She talked to Best and asked him if she could take a personal day. She kept things vague, telling him that something personal came up and she needed to go home.

Best probably sensed that it was serious and he gave her the day she needed. After that she quickly walked towards the locker room and changed into her civvies. She hadn't done much work, so she didn't need to shower.

Dov was already waiting by the cruiser when Andy joined him outside. With a tight smile she stepped into the car. The drive towards the Swarek residence was filled with silence. Andy didn't know how to tell Sam what happened. How to tell him his mother died. That his father was dying. How to tell him that she voluntarily talked to the man he hated more than anything.

She had no idea how he would react. If he would react at all. She just prayed he wouldn't shut her out. That he would let her help him, whatever way she could. He probably would be angry at her for being alone with William. She knew that too.

When they reached the house Andy turned her head to face Dov. ''Give Jen a kiss from me, okay? And tell Chloe I said hi.''

''I will,'' Dov promised. ''Good luck Andy. Tell me if you need anything. Either of you.''

''Thanks,'' Andy said. She stepped out of the car and took a deep breath before walking towards the front door.

When she was inside she listened to hear where Sam was. When she heard some noise coming from upstairs she went to the stairs.

''McNally,'' Oliver's voice greeted her. ''You decided to come help us out. Make us lunch? Your husband is really making me work so I have quite the appetite right now.''

Andy smiled sadly and found Sam's eyes when he joined them in the hallway. ''Hey,'' he said. ''What are you doing home this early? Something wrong?''

She didn't want to lie, so Andy avoided his question. ''I wanted to talk to you about something,'' she said. Hoping that Oliver would take the hint.

Thankfully Oliver knew when his presence wasn't needed. ''You know Sammy. I have to go pick up the girls from school. I'll come back later this week to help, okay?''

Sam nodded, but kept his eyes on Andy. ''McNally, see you later too.'' With that Oliver disappeared. He knew the house well enough to let himself out.

''What's going on?'' Sam asked. ''Are you okay?''

''I'm okay,'' Andy confirmed. ''Can we go downstairs for a moment.''

''Just tell me what is wrong Andy,'' Sam begged. He knew the look in her eyes and it didn't mean any good.

Andy took a deep breath. ''Your father was at the station today,'' she softly said.

''What?'' Sam asked. ''What did he do?''

''He wanted to talk to me.'' Andy shrugged. ''He told Prince that he just needed a moment to talk to me.''

''Please tell me that you send him away.''

''I talked to him,'' Andy said apologetic. ''I thought that he would leave if I would just listen to him for a moment.''

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head. ''I warned you for him over and over again. You do the exact opposite of what I tell you to do. Do you have any idea what he is capable of Andy? It's not just you you were putting in danger. He could have hurt our son as well.'' Sam was raising his voice so badly that he was practically yelling at her.

''I know, I know. I had my taser, pepper spray and a gun on my duty belt. I had Dov watching from the interview room so he couldn't hurt me.''

Sam laughed sarcastically and made fists of his hands. ''Are you that naive? It takes him less than a second to take you down. All you precautions be damned. Do you have any idea how stupid you've been?''

Andy closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. She was expecting Sam to get mad at her. She knew he thought she was being stupid. It still hurt though. There was no one who's approval she wanted, except for Sam's. ''I know you don't approve, but I did it.''

''Doesn't matter what I think, right?'' Sam asked. He was obviously hurt by her actions and Andy hated that. ''You do whatever you want anyway.''

''Of course I care about what you think Sam, but he wasn't going to leave it alone.''

''And he is now?'' Sam yelled. ''If you give him one inch to manoeuvre he'll end up taking everything you've got. That is who he is. Why can't you see that I know how this guy works.''

''Sam,'' Andy stopped him. ''I know, okay? You're mad, I get it. He did tell me something you should know though.''

''What could he have possibly told you that I should know?'' Sam asked.

''Sam. It's your mom. She... She died Sam.'' Andy tried to break it to Sam gently, but he wasn't giving her any room to prepare him for the news.

Sam fell silent. His face didn't show any emotion. He stood perfectly still. After a moment he shook his head and laughed again. ''He's playing you, that's what he's doing. He's trying to get to your emotions and it's working. You believe him.''

Andy grabbed her bag and took out the piece of paper that she had printed at the station. She handed it to Sam. ''It's true. He's telling the truth.''

Andy took another deep breath. ''Your mother died four months ago.''

XX

**A little more insight in William's head, but is he telling the truth?**

**Next up: How does Sam take the news of his mom's passing? **

**Please review if you have the chance!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much for your continued feedback! I keep saying this, but the fact that so many people like a story written by someone who isn't even a native speaker really means a lot. Sometimes I have a little trouble with grammar, so if you see any mistakes just say so. I can only learn from them, right?**

**XX**

After Andy's confession they walked downstairs towards the living room. Andy still hadn't really gotten a reaction out of Sam. He just sat down on the couch and stared.

He didn't say anything. Didn't show any sign of emotion. Just stared.

''Sam?'' Andy asked nervously. To be honest she liked it better when he was yelling at her. At least that showed that he was hearing her and taking her in.

''I don't really know what to say,'' Sam answered. ''I should probably feel something, right?''

''Whatever you do or don't feel, that's okay.'' Andy put a comforting hand on Sam's back and slowly rubbed up and down. ''Are you okay?'' she asked. ''Is there anything I can do?''

Sam shook his head and faced Andy. ''She's been out of my life longer than she was in it. I know it probably makes me a horrible person or something, but I honestly don't think this will affect me much.''

Andy nodded, but didn't truly believe him. She knew it hurt her when her mother showed up after nearly fifteen years of absence. Of course Andy was very different than Sam. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Sam kept things boiled up, but he also was a lot stronger than she was.

''I mean it,'' Sam said. ''It's sad that this is how things went, but it's the truth. I didn't look back when she was alive; it would be hypocritical to start with that now. I don't believe that William is too shaken up about it too, because their marriage was practically over back when I was around.''

''There's more,'' Andy softly said. She ran her hand through Sam's hair and kissed his shoulder. ''God I hate telling you all of this, but you have to know.'' She took a deep breath and looked Sam in the eye. ''William said he has a terminal illness. He said he has cancer.''

Sam's head snapped up. He looked at Andy and his eyes grew bigger. ''He told you that?'' When Andy nodded he looked back at the ground. ''Do you believe him?''

''I don't know,'' Andy truthfully answered. ''He was getting mad at me because I confronted him with some stuff you told me. So Dov stepped in and told him to leave. Then all of the sudden he started to announce that he was dying.''

''So it could be just emotional blackmail,'' Sam reasoned.

''Could be the truth too.'' Andy smiled sadly and shrugged. ''I don't know what to believe. Everything you've told me about him makes me believe that he's lying. But I can't think of any reason for why he would want to make amends now. After all these years. Unless maybe he really knows that this is his last chance.''

Sam ran his hand across his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. ''It doesn't really matter,'' he told her. ''It doesn't change anything. Just the fact that Epstein has to remove him proves that he hasn't changed much.''

''Dov was overreacting a little bit,'' Andy quickly said. ''There really wasn't any threat or something. He just didn't want to take any chances.''

Silence filled the room as Sam processed all the new information that he had gotten. Andy kept looking at him, searching for signs of his emotional state. He showed nothing though.

After a while Sam turned to face Andy again. He cupped her cheek in his hand and softly pressed their lips together. ''I still believe that what you did was stupid, okay?'' he asked much calmer than he had reacted upstairs.

''I know,'' Andy answered. ''I thought I was doing the right thing for you.''

''I know you did,'' Sam agreed. ''And I'm glad that you took Dov with you. And I'm really glad that he was sensible enough to step in before things got out of hand. Just promise me you won't do anything like this again? I get why you did it, I do. I just don't want you to ever do it again. Then I'd rather talk to him myself.''

A sad smile formed on Andy's lips. She knew that Sam would move heaven and earth for her. He would do just about anything to keep her safe, especially now that she was carrying their child. ''I don't want you to have to talk to him. I just thought that maybe he would leave if I would hear him out.''

''Guess we'll find out soon enough,'' Sam said. He laid back against the couch and took Andy with him. When her head was on his chest he started to trace patterns on the skin that was exposed now that her shirt had crept up a little.

Both were lost in their own world. Both were working through their own thoughts.

Sam kept thinking about what he lost; if he really lost something. He wasn't sure. In a way he had been an orphan for years now. Of course a part of him had hoped that one day maybe his parents would see the light. Thoughts like that hadn't occurred in years though. He was older and wiser now. He knew that they wouldn't change and that the damage was too big to actually forgive and forget.

Andy kept thinking about how this would affect Sam. She couldn't even imagine how she would've turned out if she would've had the childhood that he endured. She was so proud of the man that he had become despite of that.

The first time she met him she wasn't that impressed. Of course, back then she thought that he was a lowlife drugs dealer. The day after that she was nervous to be around him, but from that day she knew that she would never be safer with anybody else.

The lengths Sam went through to keep his loved ones safe were amazing. Andy didn't get how someone that had been disappointed so often by the people that are suppose to love you the most, could turn into such a great guy.

''Are you okay?'' Sam asked after a few minutes. He had been so distracted with his own thoughts that he didn't even think about how this affected Andy.

''As long as you are I am too,'' Andy confirmed. ''I just wish there was something I could do for you.''

''You probably don't see it, but you do a lot. And even if it makes me a horrible person.. Knowing that she died doesn't affect me that much. She hasn't been a part of my life for a long time.'' Sam kissed the top of Andy's head and swallowed. ''You really do more than you can imagine.''

''How?'' Andy wondered. ''I did the exact opposite from what you told me to do.''

Sam swallowed and looked at the ceiling. Years of marriage still didn't mean that he was an easy talker. At least not when it came down to feelings. ''Well, like I said, I get why you did that.''

Taking another deep breath Sam put his hand on Andy's stomach. He slowly rubbed his thumb over the place where their baby was. ''Before I met you I was sure about how my life would turn out. I would work the streets and disappear undercover every now and then. Sarah and the kids would be my family. And I thought I was okay with that. I really did.''

Sam's hand stilled when he felt their baby boy kick. ''I thought that it would be safer that way. Easier. I thought that it would be easier to not burden anybody with my flaws.''

''Sam,'' Andy interrupted him. ''We all have flaws, but you're talking about yourself like your impossible to be with.''

''Be honest,'' Sam dared. ''When we first got involved I couldn't even tell you how I felt about you. I couldn't be alone with you for too long because I was afraid that maybe it would slip out. Is that the kind of guy you wanted to build a future with? Have kids with? I don't want our son to wonder if I love him. I want him to know.''

''He'll know,'' Andy promised. ''If not by words, then by actions. You may have never said the words at first, but I felt it.'' Andy saw the serious look on Sam's face and decided to lighten the mood a little bit. ''And of course I knew that you would turn around one day. I'm so lovable like that.''

A surprised chuckle escaped Sam's mouth. He was thankful that she was always able to tell what he needed. He didn't want to have any more loaded conversations. He just wanted to be alone with his wife. ''That you are,'' he agreed.

The rest of the day they worked on the nursery a little. Deciding to make the most of Andy's unsuspected off day they went out and bought furniture for the nursery. They also bought a few other things that they would need when the newest Swarek addition would arrive.

Andy kept a close eye on Sam, but he did seem to be doing okay. She knew him well enough to know when he was faking; it didn't seem like he was.

Neither of them was in the mood to cook, so they went out to dinner together. They talked about unimportant stuff and just enjoyed their time together. When they got home they took Boo for a long walk. Not much was said, but both enjoyed the company that the other provided.

Later that night Andy was lying on the couch when Sam walked into the living room with drinks in his hand. He handed her a glass of juice and lifted her feet so he could sit down. ''Have you thought about names yet?'' Andy asked him.

Sam shrugged and started to massage her calf. ''I don't know. Thought about it, but I don't really have any ideas.''

''We should really start looking for a name,'' Andy mused. ''There are so many names out there. How do you know which one will fit?''

''Just one we both like?'' Sam guessed as he took a sip of his beer. ''It will be fine. Don't worry.''

''You always say don't worry,'' Andy argued. ''I do worry. I want our child to have a pretty name.''

''Okay, what do you think is a good name?'' Sam asked. ''Just give me a few and I'll tell you if I like them.''

Andy perked up and smiled. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen. A second later she returned with two notepads in her hand. ''Here,'' she said as she gave one to Sam. ''How about we both make a top three or a top five. Then we'll see if we have any similar names.''

Sam groaned and shook his head. ''Top 5?'' he wondered. He had trouble to even think of one name. ''How about just one name.''

''Just see how far you'll come,'' Andy said. ''We'll take ten minutes to think.''

Soon Andy was writing stuff down. Sam saw her writing something down every few minutes. After a while he knew she would have at least five names. He still had zero. He just wasn't that inspired.

When the ten minutes were up Andy looked at him with a hopeful look. ''How many have you got?'' she asked.

Sam turned around the paper and showed her that it was still blank. ''Sorry,'' he apologised. ''Just couldn't think of one right now. I'll think it over. I promise.''

Andy's smile fell. She nodded and looked at the paper in her hands. ''Okay. Sorry I pushed this on you.''

If there was one thing that Sam hated, then it was Andy feeling sorry for him. He quickly grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards him. ''Show me yours,'' he said.

''You don't have to right now,'' Andy quickly said. ''Like you said, we still have time. We can do this some other night. It's fine.''

''Andy, show me the list,'' Sam said calmly. ''I want to see what names you came up with.'' He grabbed the list out of her hand, threw an arm around her shoulder and started to look at the list of names that Andy had written down.

''Damian?'' Sam asked. ''A guy I brought in for murder was named Damian. He tried to shoot me.'' He inspected the list further. ''I don't like Gavin either.''

''Just throw the entire thing out?'' Andy guessed. ''You probably arrested a Logan too.''

''Not that I remember,'' Sam said. ''I actually like Logan. I like Landon too. Or Julian.'' Sam looked at the last name and laughed. ''We're not calling our son Oliver.''

''What?'' Andy asked. ''He's our friend and he has been rooting for us since day one. I think he would be very honored if we named our son after him.''

''I think nobody will ever hear the end of it if we name him after Oliver,'' Sam argued. ''He's already bragging about the fact that Frank and Noelle named Olivia after him.''

''Is that even true?'' Andy wondered. ''Noelle never said anything about that. I really think he just made that up. Maybe they just liked that name.''

''I don't even know,'' Sam sighed out.

''So?'' Andy asked. ''Landon, Julian and Logan can go on the maybe list?''

''Yes,'' Sam confirmed. ''I promise that I'll give it some more thought later on. Just haven't thought about it enough I think. We'll probably find a name that will just stick.''

''I hope so,'' Andy said. ''I didn't know picking out a name would be this hard. I mean there are so many names out there. A lot of weird ones too. Do you know that some people actually give their kids names like Google or Popeye. That's weird, right?''

Sam chuckled and nodded his head. ''Yeah McNally, that's weird. What is also weird is that you know stuff like that.''

''I'm on desk duty,'' Andy defended herself. ''I have a lot of time to Google stupid things.''

''Like who named their kid Google?''

''I typed 'weird baby names' into Google and then I got that article.'' Andy made herself a little bit more comfortable and sighed contently.

''Why would you Google weird baby names?'' Sam wondered.

''I was just thinking,'' Andy said. ''I thought I wanted a really original name. And most original names are a little bit weird, but the names I found were a bit too weird. Even for me. I mean, we are definitely not calling our son Hippo.''

A smile graced Sam's lips. ''We're definitely not,'' he agreed. ''All though Google is really beginning to sound good to me.''

Andy laughed and slapped Sam's chest softly. ''You're such a nerd.''

After that both stayed silent for a while. It was already pretty late and when Sam checked his watch he noticed that Andy was already slightly snoring. He gently shook her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. ''Andy?'' he asked. ''Let's go to bed sweetheart. It's pretty late.''

Together they switched off all the lights and headed upstairs. When they were in bed, Andy once again rested her head on Sam's chest. Over the years that had become her favorite position to sleep in.

She traced his abs with her finger and her thoughts went back to the day they had. She really didn't want to push Sam, but she needed to know that he was okay. That he was not silently suffering. ''Are you okay? '' she asked. ''Are you sure you don't want to talk or whatever?''

Sam's hand stilled on her back. ''I'm okay,'' he promised. ''I should probably go see Sarah tomorrow. Tell her. She has a right to know, right?'' Sam wondered.

''Yeah, of course,'' Andy agreed. ''You should tell her. And it's probably better to tell her in person. I mean, I don't know how she will take it of course.''

''I don't know either. She broke off all contact with them when she was eighteen.''

''That must have been hard,'' Andy mused out loud. She couldn't imagine cutting off all contact with her father. Of course, her father had always loved her and cared for her. Even during the days where his drinking had been at its worst.

''Staying was harder,'' Sam said. ''I'm fine,'' he continued after a while. Her death doesn't change my life much. Haven't heard from her in so many years that I mostly blocked her out of my memory.''

''Do you want me to go with you to Sarah's? Or do you rather want to go alone?''

''I don't know,'' Sam answered. ''You have to work, right?''

''If you want me to come I'll make it work,'' Andy argued. ''Frank will understand and it's not like I'm being super useful to him anyway.''

A small smile formed on Sam's lips. He pressed his lips to the top of Andy's head . ''Desk duty is important too.'' He swallowed and thought about it for a second. ''Maybe I should do this alone?'' he asked. ''Unless you want to come?''

Andy shook her head and moved up a little so she could look Sam in the eye. ''Whatever _you_ want. I mean it. If you want me to come then I'll come. But if you'd rather do this alone than I get that too. Just tell me what you need and we'll make it work.''

Sam nodded. ''I should just go alone. I'll drive up early.''

''Okay,'' Andy said. ''We should probably try to get some sleep. If we both have to get up that early.'' She leaned to her side to switch of the lamp beside their bed. ''Sleep well. I love you.''

''You too,'' Sam agreed.

XX

He didn't get much sleep that night. He tried to think of a way to break the news to Sarah, but options just didn't come. Part of him thought that Sarah wouldn't be too affected by the news either, but he wasn't sure.

Sarah had always been a little bit more unstable than he was. Not that she was weak. She was one of the strongest people he knew. Especially since she had Joshua and Abigail. Of course since she was a mother her worries went up, but her kids made her stronger than ever.

Sam looked at woman lying next to him. He could only imagine how motherhood would affect her. She would be an amazing mom. He knew that for sure. Since her pregnancy became a little bit more 'real' to him he began to have faith that he would do okay too.

He knew that with her help he would be able to be a good dad. He already knew what not to do, so that was a positive note.

When the alarm clock went off he quickly pressed the off button and kissed Andy. ''Get up Andy,'' he said. ''You have to work.''

''No,'' Andy groaned. ''I want to sleep some more. I'm tired.''

Sam smiled and got out of bed. "Fine, then I'll make my world famous breakfast for just me then.''

One of Andy's eyes opened. ''You never play fair,'' she said. ''But fine, I'm up.''

Together they had a pretty good morning ritual, so within thirty minutes they were both dressed and seated at the counter eating their breakfast. Boo had been walked, so their household was running smoothly.

''Are you nervous about telling Sarah?'' Andy asked.

''Not really,'' Sam said. ''I mean, I don't really know how to break it to her, but I'll figure it out when I see her. Everything will be okay.''

''It will,'' Andy agreed. ''I'll cook tonight, okay?''

''Sure,'' Sam answered. He knew she was just trying to do _something_ and even though he was really fine he wanted to give her what she needed.

After they finished breakfast both headed towards their own car. Sam had agreed to take Boo with him. Sarah's kids loved him so it would be a nice surprise for them when they came home from school. Boo was good with them too. As distrustful as he was towards adult, he was a happy dog when he was around kids.

When they were outside Andy gave Sam a quick peck on the lips. ''Be safe, okay? Call me if you need anything.''

''I will. I'm okay.'' Sam kissed Andy one more time and then walked towards his truck with Boo right behind him. ''Don't worry too much, will you?'' he yelled after Andy. ''I'll probably be home before you.''

Andy nodded and waited until Sam drove off. Then she got in her car and headed towards the division.

XX

When Andy's shift was finally over she immediately checked her cell phone. All she had missed was one text message from Sam telling her not to worry.

Of course, she was Andy so she did worry. She pressed the first speed dial as soon as she saw the text message.

''Hey,'' Sam answered his phone. ''How are you?''

''I'm good,'' Andy promised. ''How are you. Where are you?''

''I'm good,'' Sam answered. ''I'm at home actually.''

''Seriously?'' Andy asked. ''Are you back already?''

''Sarah and I decided to go to her grave. With the information you gave me it was pretty easy to track it down. And it was in Toronto so now we're at home.''

''How was it?'' Andy had her cell phone tugged between her ear and shoulder as she undid her belt. She unbuttoned her blouse and looked through her locker to search for her own clothes.

She could hear Sam sigh. ''It was.. Well it wasn't fun, but we talked and I think things are fine like this. Sarah's doing good and that was my biggest concern so things are good.''

''That's good. Will you take her back home or will she eat along?'' Andy asked. ''I'm going to get some groceries now.''

''Don't,'' Sam warned. ''I left Boo in St. Catherine's. Ryan will drive to the city with him, Joshua and Abigail. And Joshua made me promise that we would eat pizza.''

''They're all coming here?'' Andy was a bit surprised about that. Normally they would always visit St. Catherine's. The whole family meeting in Toronto had only happened once before.

''I told Sarah that I would drive her back, but she didn't want me to make the trip twice. Besides, it's Saturday tomorrow so the kids will have the day off. Doesn't matter if they're in bed a little later.''

''Okay,'' Andy said. ''We do need some other things though so I'll make a quick stop at the grocery store. I'll be home within thirty minutes.''

''Okay, be safe.''

XX

That night they all sat together and had a good time. They didn't talk too much about William's appearance and the news that their mother died. Nobody wanted the kids to ask any questions. They were too young to be confronted with the cold reality their mother went through.

When Joshua and Abigail were playing in the backyard with Boo the subject did come up. Sarah agreed with Sam that all though it was sad, it didn't affect them much.

Both had said goodbye to the past long before. Both of them had better things in their lives which made them even more sure that they had done the right thing by leaving that life behind.

When it was time for Sarah and her family to return home, Joshua and Abigail took their time saying goodbye to Boo. After a while everybody was in the car that headed back towards St. Catherine's.

Andy walked inside with Boo right behind her. She smiled at the dog and crouched down to pet his head. ''You sure had a lot of attention today, huh?''

''Sarah told me they might be getting a dog too. Now that they've seen how the kids respond to one they're a little bit more confident that they won't be bored of him within two minutes.

''He's a pretty good dog,'' Andy commented as she stood up again. She grabbed her back and winced a little. ''Okay, not able to do that anymore,'' she said.

''Are you okay?'' Sam asked with a concerned tone. ''Are you in pain?''

Andy smiled and shook her head. ''Don't worry,'' she told him. ''I just have to get used to the fact that my body won't allow me to overdo it anymore.''

''You should really take a step back,'' Sam argued. ''It's really not healthy for you to be nearly seven months pregnant and still work this hard. Just the other day you were in the gym for almost an hour.''

''I was in there with Traci, so that meant I was mostly just talking,'' Andy argued. ''And besides, I know my own body. I know when things become too much. You worry way too much.''

''You're one to talk,'' Sam shot back.

A smile appeared on Andy's lips as she walked towards Sam. ''You know me too well. Everything went okay today?''

Sam nodded. ''I just told her what I know and then we decided to visit her grave. It's not like we could find any answers there, but I don't know. Felt like some sort of closure.''

''That's good,'' Andy responded.

''I just don't want to talk about it anymore, okay? Let's just watch some movie you like tonight and lets go to bed early.''

''That's an idea I can get behind.''

XX

**A/N: One of the longest chapters so far, but I never know where to break it off.  
If you have an opinion about the names, let me know! If you have any other ideas, let me know too!**

_Next up: Sam gets the biggest scare of his life when Oliver calls him with news about Andy. _


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, next chapter.**

**I have to be honest that I have no idea if this is realistic, but it's fiction, so let's keep that in mind..**

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews, they make my day.**

**XX**

A few weeks later things were going great for both of them. Andy was enjoying her pregnancy more than ever. She loved feeling their little boy moving inside of her. Sam was happy that William decided to stay away. The fact that Andy was glowing every time he looked at her made him a happy and proud man too.

When Andy woke up on Monday morning she stretched out and turned around. Sam was nowhere in sight, but she could hear the shower running. Andy quickly got out of bed and went downstairs. She put on the coffeemaker and grabbed the newspaper.

After ten minutes Sam joined her downstairs. He greeted her with a quick kiss on her cheek. After that he grabbed the plate that already had his breakfast on it. ''You could've stayed in bed,'' he told her. ''I'm capable of making my own breakfast.''

''I know,'' Andy said. ''Just wasn't that comfortable in bed anymore. Besides, I feel like I've hardly seen you this week.''

''Sorry, it's been a busy week,'' Sam explained. ''Things should be returning back to normal now that Nash is back at work.'' Sam had worked a lot of overtime. Of course it was busy, but he also figured that he would have some extra time off when the baby was born if he just worked a little harder.

''You go easy on her,'' Andy warned. ''You know her, if it's up to her she'll be working twelve hours a day, but she needs time at home too. So do you by the way. I know you want to put in a few extra hours, but you're kind of overdoing it.''

''You think she's going to listen to me?'' Sam wondered. He ignored her comments about his schedule. He knew she noticed that he was tired, but it was worth it if he could spent a few weeks at home with their son. ''I don't think Nash listens to anyone if it comes down to work. When she thinks she's onto something, she doesn't let go.''

Andy slowly nodded. ''That's part of what makes her so good, but she also has two kids at home. Just keep an eye on her, okay?''

Sam grabbed the newspaper and read a few articles before he decided that he was already running late. He hated being late, so he quickly grabbed his jacket and gave Andy a quick kiss.

A minute later he was back in the living room. When he didn't see Andy he walked upstairs. He found her in their bedroom getting ready to hop into the shower. ''Your car is in front of my truck,'' he said.

Andy could see that he was irritated. ''Sorry, I thought I needed it yesterday, but then we decided to stay at home.''

''Can you move it?'' Sam asked impatiently. He pinched the bridge of his nose. ''I'm already running late.''

''You'll be at the barn with time to spare,'' Andy argued. She didn't get Sam's need to be everywhere thirty minutes before people expected him. ''Calm down.''

''Just move the car and I'll be out of your way,'' Sam shot back. ''Come on Andy.''

''Just take my car.'' Andy grabbed a new bottle of shampoo and threw off her robe. ''I'm not getting dressed just to move my car when you can just as well take mine.''

''I hate that thing,'' Sam muttered. ''I don't understand why you put it in the garage anyway, you never park it there.''

Andy was getting irritated now too. ''Come on Sam. It's like a fifteen minute drive. I'm sure you'll manage, even in my car. And I put it there because you told me to do so.''

''And since when do you listen to me?'' Sam asked as he started to leave the bedroom again. He slammed the door closed with a little bit more force than he needed to.

''Have a good day. Love you too,'' Andy yelled after him.

XX

Two hours later Andy was sitting on the couch feeling guilty about their little fight. She knew that Sam really hated her car. He even tried to talk her out of buying it, but she insisted that she loved the thing.

Besides, Sam had been working really hard and Andy knew that was because he wanted to be at home after the birth of their son. With a sigh she pushed herself of the couch and looked for Sam's keys. She decided that she might as well make him his favorite dinner to make it up to him.

She searched for her phone and send Sam a text. –_Sorry about this morning. Will have dinner ready when you come home. Love you.-_

Quickly she locked the house and moved the truck out of the garage. She turned on the music and sang along when one of her favorite songs came along.

With the years Andy had taken over half of the programmed channels. Sometimes she would even catch Sam listening to one of her channels instead of his classic rock.

When she had to stop for a red light Andy felt a big kick against her stomach. ''Yeah, yeah,'' she softly said. ''I know mommy can't sing.''

In a way she felt silly talking to her stomach, but no one was there and she really enjoyed talking to her baby. She still had to get used to the fact that she could call herself mommy now. She had waited for that moment for so long. Now that she had her biggest wish come true it felt surreal.

When the light turned green again, Andy slowly got the truck moving again. She didn't even see the car that was speeding from the left side.

The car that obviously ran a red light.

Andy didn't even notice the car crashing into the truck. She didn't notice the airbags around her exploding. All she felt was everything going black.

XX

Sam was sitting at his desk waiting until his computer finally opened the right program. When his phone rang he looked at the caller id and answered it. ''I swear to god,'' he said without listening to a word Oliver had to say. ''I think I spend about an hour of every day waiting for the damn computer to work.''

He had been in a foul mood all day long. His fight with Andy was still playing in his mind and he was just generally tired. He didn't even know why he made such a problem about her car. And even if it was a problem, it would have been a few minutes of work to move her car and then take his truck to work.

''Sam.'' Oliver said. The tone of his voice was enough for Sam to know that something was really wrong. ''You have to come to the hospital.''

Immediately Sam knew that this wasn't something that involved a case. This was personal. It was that feeling in his gut that told him that this was serious, ''What happened?'' he asked. ''Where is she?''

''She was in a car accident,'' Oliver said. Sam could hear that Oliver was emotional. Over the years Andy had won a special place in his heart. ''They're taking her out now, but you should head to the hospital right away. As soon as she's out they're taking her there. We're only five minutes away.''

''How bad?'' was all Sam could ask. He felt like he couldn't move anymore. In a minute he had thought about at least ten scenarios that could happen. Each one uglier than the one before.

''I don't know,'' Oliver answered truthfully. ''Someone crashed into her. She's not conscious. Get someone to drive you, okay?''

In a haze Sam moved around the station. He grabbed one of the newest rookies and told him to drive him to the hospital as soon as possible. Even though it wasn't allowed, Sam flicked on the sirens. Thankfully the rookie was just glad that he was allowed to drive for once, so he didn't protest.

When they reached the hospital Sam rushed out of the cruiser and ran into the building. It took him a few minutes to find out where they had taken Andy. When he saw Oliver Sam ran towards him. ''How is she?'' he asked.

Oliver looked at his friend and shook his head. ''I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything. They're working on her now.''

Sam went to search for someone that could tell him more about how Andy and their baby were doing, but nobody could tell him anything. Everybody said that he just had to wait. A doctor would find him whenever they had more news.

Defeated Sam dropped down on the chair next to Oliver. He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath.

Oliver tried to bring some comfort by placing his hand on Sam's shoulder. ''You know her brother,'' Oliver told him. ''She's tough.''

''We had a fight this morning,'' Sam said. ''I don't even know why I got mad. I was just irritated and I took it out on her.''

''Sam, don't do this,'' Oliver warned. ''We don't know anything yet. They are probably just doing every test they can think of to make sure that she and the baby are okay.''

''It's a boy,'' Sam said. Andy wanted to keep the gender a surprise, but Sam just needed to say something. He swallowed and shook his head. ''It's a boy.''

XX

For Sam it felt like days had passed when a doctor finally made an appearance. The waiting room was filled with people from 15th. Sam knew that he was well liked around the station, but everybody loved his wife.

She always gave a little something extra and was always willing to help her colleagues. A lot of people came by to find out if they already knew more about her condition.

''Mr. Swarek?'' the doctor asked when he looked around the crowded waiting room.

Sam's head snapped up and he walked towards the man in the white coat. ''That's me. How are they doing?''

Oliver had stood up when the doctor came in too. He and Traci were both standing next to Sam. Traci had a hand on Sam's arm, trying to keep everything together.

''Why don't we find some place a little more private?'' the doctor suggested.

''Tell me here,'' Sam demanded. ''Please, just tell me something.''

He could see the doctor look around the waiting room. The look on the doctor's face told him that things weren't good. ''Your wife was involved in a car accident,'' the doctor started. ''When they got her out she was unconscious. We have done some tests, but we're not able to do every test we would like.''

''Why not?'' Oliver asked.

''Some tests could hurt the baby,'' the doctor explained. ''Right now our biggest concern are her lungs. There is also some risk for brain damage, but so far her reactions are good. We suspect she has broken her right leg, but that's not our priority right now.''

''What can you do?'' Traci wondered. ''Will she be okay? Will the baby be okay?''

''Right now we have to take a lot of things in consideration,'' the doctor said. ''For the mother it would be best to perform an emergency c-section, but for the baby it would be better to stay with the mother for a little longer.''

Sam closed his eyes and tried to keep things under control. He couldn't believe that all of this was actually happening. It didn't seem fair that they had waited for their son for such a long time, only to have everything end like this. ''Please don't make me choose,'' he whispered. ''I can't.''

''We won't,'' the doctor promised. ''We're monitoring your wife and baby very closely. Every change makes us revaluate our options. If necessary we'll bring her into surgery and do a c-section.''

Oliver understood that Sam was too lost to be asking anymore questions, so he asked the question that was on everybody's mind. ''What are their changes?''

''I can't give you any guarantees,'' the doctor explained. ''But Mrs. Swarek is nearly 31 weeks pregnant. There are risks to preterm birth, but with today's technology we can do a lot.''

''So both of them could be fine?'' Traci asked.

''We're doing everything we can,'' was the doctor's short answer. His pager went off and he shot the group an apologetic smile. ''I'm sorry, I have to go. If you have any more questions you can go see a nurse.''

As soon as the doctor walked away everybody was quiet. Everybody knew that Andy was strong, but some things were too hard to fight against.

Sam stood in the middle of the room, motionless. He didn't know how to process everything that the doctor had told him. In a way he didn't know more than he did an hour before. He could lose both his wife and child on the same day. Both could survive as well. Nobody had any answers yet.

Without knowing where he was walking to, Sam stepped away from the group of people. He walked for a while and when he found an empty room he punched the wall a few times. He let out a scream and kicked a bench.

''Sam,'' a familiar voice said.

Sam turned around and found Sarah standing next to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. Tears filled her eyes when she saw the pain that was behind her little brother's eyes. ''I'm so sorry,'' she whispered.

She stood on her toes to hug Sam. It took him a second, but then he just let go. He wrapped his arms around his sister's waist and let out a sob. He didn't even remember the last time he cried, but now that his whole world was crashing down on him he didn't know what else to do.

''I can't lose them,'' he said. ''I can't lose either of them.''

''I know,'' Sarah answered, keeping her own tears at bay. ''I know.''

The siblings stayed like that for a few minutes. ''She's one of the strongest people I know,'' Sarah told Sam. ''She won't leave you or your baby if she's got a fighting chance.''

''I'm scared,'' Sam admitted. That wasn't someone that he ever said. Ever since he was a little boy he had learned that he had to be strong. Being scared didn't solve anything.

Seeing her brother crumble like that made Sarah's tears fall freely. She gripped him a little tighter and ran her hand across her back. ''She's so strong,'' she said again. ''She loves you so much. She'll come back to you. She has to.''

''The doctor's can't tell me anything,'' Sam said. He let go of Sarah and whipped his tears away. He clenched his jaw and turned his hands into fists again. ''All they do is talk around the subject.''

''They can't give you too much hope,'' Sarah tried. ''It's their job to not make any promises. How about you go sit with her for a moment?''

Sam nodded with his eyes closed. ''I just need a moment.''

Sarah smiled sadly and kissed Sam on the cheek. ''We're all here for you,'' she promised. ''Is there anything I can do?''

Sam cleared his throat and shook his head. ''Actually,'' he said after a second. ''Ask Oliver to go to Tommy's house. I tried calling him, but he won't answer. He needs to be here too.''

When Sarah nodded he thought of another thing. ''Someone has to go get Boo. He's alone at the house.''

''Consider it done.''

XX

When Sam walked into Andy's room he had to catch his breath for a moment. His wife was looking paler than he ever saw her. She was attached to a lot of wires and machines.

A nurse was readjusting a few things and looked up when he came in. She shot him a small smile and stepped away. ''They're strong,'' she told Sam. ''We're keeping a close eye on both of them.''

All Sam could do was nod. He didn't trust his voice to speak yet.

''I'll give you a minute,'' the nurse said, sensing that he could use a few moments alone.

When she left Sam rushed to Andy's side. He noticed a big gash on her forehead. Her leg was in a brace and she had oxygen in her nose. Next to her were a few machines. Carefully Sam sat down next to Andy. He brushed her bangs out of her face and found out that she had blood in her hair too.

''God,'' Sam whispered. ''Sweetheart, you have to be okay, alright? I can't do this by myself. I know that you think that I can, but I really can't. I need the two of you. You guys are all I care about.'' Tears filled his eyes again. Seeing his wife so vulnerable made him sick.

He didn't believe in God or anything else, but still he found himself praying to whatever was up there. He was bargaining, promising to do anything, everything, just as long as Andy and their baby would be okay. Just as long as he would be able to see her smile again. To hear their son's cries. He would do anything. He would give up everything he owned.

Of course the world didn't work like that. He knew that, but it was the only thing he could do.

Half an hour later Tommy rushed into the room. Oliver had picked him up and told him everything he knew. ''How is she?'' Tommy asked.

''Same,'' Sam answered. He ran his hand over his face again and shook his head. ''Nothing has changed, they're not doing a damn thing about it.''

He felt himself getting angry again, but there wasn't anyone to get angry at. Of course there was the person that ran that red light, but he would deal with that person later. ''I'll leave you for a minute,'' he softly said.

When he turned around and walked out of the room he rested his head against the closed door for a moment. He had never felt more tired and drained in his life. Not knowing how this would end was killing him. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like it was days ago that Oliver had called him.

Oliver came to find him minutes later. ''Any news?'' Oliver asked.

''Nothing,'' Sam answered. ''Nobody's doing anything.''

''They're watching them closely,'' Oliver said. ''You heard the doctor.''

Sam sat down with a sigh and closed his eyes. He shrugged and opened them again. ''What do I do?'' he asked. ''Just tell me what to do, because I don't know.''

''You can't do anything right now,'' Oliver said. ''We'll just have to wait.''

XX

More time passed without any new information. Everybody slowly left the hospital to go to their own families. Only Tommy, Oliver, Sarah and Andy's close friends stayed.

''Sir?'' Dov asked after a few silent moments. ''I know this isn't a perfect time, but can I have a word?''

Traci was sitting with Andy for a moment. Sam had told her that she needed to go home to Leo and Jerry. They needed their mother and there wasn't much she could do in the hospital. After a while Traci agreed, but she did want to say goodbye to Andy before she left.

Just in case.

Sam knew that Dov wouldn't ask him that question unless it was urgent, so he stood up and walked with him. ''What is it Epstein?''

''I was the responding officer together with Oliver,'' Dov explained. ''When we got there I recognized someone that was helping Andy.''

''Who was it?'' Sam asked. He didn't see where Dov was going and he wanted to go back to Andy.

''Your father,'' Dov softly said.

''What?'' Sam practically yelled. ''What the hell was he doing near her? Have you brought him in?''

Dov saw this reactions coming, so he stayed completely silent. ''At first I was suspicious too,'' he said. ''But bystanders confirmed that he actually was a great help. He kept pressure on her wound and helped the firemen get her out.''

Sam swallowed and looked away. ''He was a firemen before we were born,'' he softly admitted. Sometimes it was hard to think of William as a person who ever had a normal life, but before he started working for the wrong people he had been a normal guy.

''I just thought you had to know.''

''Did you talk to him?'' Sam asked.

''He told me he wanted to try to see you one last time when he saw the car accident,'' Dov answered. ''It would explain why he was in that area.''

''Thanks Epstein,'' Sam said after a moment. He gave Dov a short nod and went back to where everybody else was seated.

When Dov joined them he spoke up again. ''Frank just called me. The guy who hit her passed away a few hours ago. Apparently he was drunk and not in the possession of a driver's license.''

''Son of a bitch,'' Oliver muttered under his breath.

Sam couldn't feel sorry for the guy. All he felt was anger.

When Traci walked out of Andy's room she was crying. She quickly hugged Sam goodbye and left the hospital in tears. Being in that place brought back a lot of memories for her and none of them were good.

Just when Sam was about to sit with Andy again a doctor interrupted him. ''Mr. Swarek?'' When Sam looked at the doctor he continued. ''We just got some more text results back and it shows us that we need to get your baby now.''

''What?'' Sam asked. Hours of nothing and then they tell him this. ''What do you mean?''

''The babies heartbeat is going up, showing us that he's in distress. We'll move your wife into surgery right now. Someone will be with you in a moment with some papers you need to sign.''

''Wait,'' Sam said when the doctor moved into Andy's room. ''Can't I be there?''

He didn't have much experience with childbirth, but he knew that with a c-section the father was always allowed in the OR. He wanted to stay as close to his family as possible.

''Sorry,'' the doctor answered. ''Normally we would allow that, but the chance of complications is too big right now. I'm sorry, I have to go.''

Sam only had a minute to say goodbye to Andy before they took her towards the OR. Sam stood in her room a little blindsided until a nurse came in. ''I have some papers you need to sign.''

He signed everything they needed. When that was done the nurse took back all the papers. ''Someone will find you when they know more.''

''What will happen now?'' Sam asked. ''I mean, what will they do?''

''I'm not a doctor, but from what I can tell they'll perform a c-section. Because your wife wasn't due yet for another few weeks they'll move the baby into the NICU. They'll probably continue surgery on your wife after that, depending on how everything goes.''

The nurse left and Sam decided to go sit with his friends again. He never thought he would be the kind of guy that needed support, but now he was.

Sam had never felt more useless in his entire life. His wife and son were both fighting for their lives and all he could do was sit on a stupid plastic chair.

''Why is it taking so long?'' he asked after only ten minutes.

''They've only been gone for a few minutes,'' Sarah softly said. She squeezed Sam's knee. ''They're doing what they can. We've got to give them time.''

Another twenty minutes later someone came to find them. Sam didn't recognize the doctor, but when she introduced herself she said that she was the OB.

''The surgeon is still operating on your wife,'' she informed Sam. ''They are repairing some damage, but so for she's doing good.'' Then she smiled carefully. ''And I think congratulations are in order, because you have a baby boy.''

Even though he just had the crappiest day of his life and things were still unsure, Sam couldn't help but smile for a small second. ''Is he okay?'' he asked.

''He's going to need some help for the next few weeks, but I have good hopes,'' the doctor said. ''He is almost four pounds, which is quit heavy for a baby born at this term. Right now he'll need oxygen and we're giving him some help to breath, but he's a strong little guy.''

''He's okay?'' Sam summed up.

''He's okay,'' the doctor confirmed. ''He'll have to stay in the NICU for a while, but like I said, I'm very hopeful.''

Sam could hear people congratulate him, but he didn't register who was saying what. He felt people touching him, but all he could think about was that he was a father.

A father.

And his wife was still fighting for her life. Everything was messed up, but the fact that his son was doing good made him feel some hope too. Some hope that everything would be okay.

When everybody calmed down a little the doctor looked at him again. ''What do you say dad, are you ready to meet your son?''

XX

**I am highly insecure about this chapter, but decided to post it anyway..**

**Let me know what you guys think..**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks so much for the support on this story. To think this started off as a one shot.. **

**This was a hard chapter to write. I hope I did an okay job with this one, because it's such a delicate subject. **

When they reached the NICU Sam nervously looked around for a sign of his son. The nurse gave him an encouraging smile and nodded towards a sink. ''We need you to scrub first,'' she told him. ''It's very important to not bring any infections or bacteria's with you.''

Sam quickly did as he was told. When he was done the nurse made him register his name. ''Everybody that goes in and out needs to register, just so we can keep an eye on who's been with our babies. Parents are welcome at all times. Grandparents too. We have limited visiting ours for others though.''

into

The nurse led Sam a room filled with incubators. He followed her without question while his heartbeat sped up. ''For now it's just your son and one other family. So you'll have a lot of privacy.''

Sam nodded and looked towards the end of the room. He saw that there was an incubator with a baby in it. He assumed it was his son, because there were people sitting with the other filled incubator.

When they reached his son, Sam couldn't breathe for a second. He placed his hand on the incubator and looked at the small body inside of it. The baby was hooked on a lot of machines and he had tubes everywhere. Still he was the most beautiful creature that Sam had ever laid eyes on.

''He's stable,'' the nurse said. ''We're keeping a close eye on all of his vitals, but so far we're very satisfied with them.''

Sam looked at all the numbers on the screen and was glad that he recognised a few things. ''How long will he be here?'' he asked.

''I really can't give you an answer to that,'' the nurse informed him. ''It all depends on how he's going to develop. He still has a long road ahead of him, but we'll help you every step of the way. If you have any questions you can always come and find us.''

''But he's going to be okay?'' Sam asked again. ''What are his chances?''

The nurse smiled sadly and looked at the baby. ''I can't make any promises. He's stable now and we're doing everything we can to keep it that way.''

''My wife?'' Sam asked. ''She's still in surgery. Do you know anything about her?''

''I only work in the NICU unit, but I'll call the OR and I'll tell them to let me know when there's any new information on your wife.''

Sam looked back at his son. He really felt like he was being split in two. Part of him needed to be there for Andy. In the waiting room to see if there was any new information on her. Another part of him needed to be with his son. He wanted to remember every detail about him.

''Did you pick out a name yet?''

Sam swallowed and shook his head. ''We were still looking,'' he said. ''Didn't settle on anything yet.'' He couldn't make decisions like this without Andy. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then looked at the nurse again. ''Do I need to decide now?''

''No,'' she quickly said. ''We'll go with baby Swarek for now. I know it's all a lot to take in.''

She picked up a chair and put it next to the incubator. ''You can sit with him. You're also allowed to touch him if you want to. It's best not to stroke him, just keep a steady hand on either his belly, legs or head.''

Sam sat down and took a deep breath. He slowly reached out and put his hand through the incubator. He settled one hand on the baby's belly and carefully placed one hand on his head. ''Like this?''

''Just like that.'' The nurse pressed a few buttons on the machines and smiled. ''Babies like to be touched. Skin to skin contact is really good for them. If everything goes well you might be able to hold him tomorrow.''

''Doesn't he need to stay in here?'' Sam wondered.

''Not all the time. He's in here because he can't maintain his own body temperature. Skin on skin contact can have the same effect as the incubator. It's better even, because it helps parents and babies to form a bond. Hearing their parents heartbeat and voices relaxes them. You can talk to him now too.''

The nurse watched father and son for a moment and then spoke up again. ''Do you have any more questions for now?''

Even though his head was swimming with questions, Sam just shook his head. ''I'll go call the OR if there's any news on your wife. If you have any questions you can always ask for me, my name is Amanda. I'll be taking care of your son tonight.''

Sam quickly thanked her and then returned his attention to his son. ''Hey buddy,'' he whispered. ''Probably not the way you wanted to start of your life, huh?'' Sam swallowed and shook his head. He had trouble to keep the tears at bay. He never was the emotional type, but becoming a father for the first time while wondering if his wife would make it was a lot to take in.

Seeing the little man that he and Andy created together was overwhelming too. He never fantasised much about how the first moments with his son would be, but this was definitely not it. ''Your mom is a fighter,'' he promised. ''She'll do everything she can to be with you as soon as possible. She'll be the best mom in the world, okay?''

When a machine started to beep two minutes later Sam quickly pulled his hands back. He stood up and quickly looked around him.

Amanda came rushing in and looked at the machines that were next to the incubator. ''What's wrong?'' Sam asked, his voice panicked.

''His oxygen level is a little lower than we like,'' Amanda said calmly. She pressed a few more buttons and the beeping stopped. ''There,'' she said with a smile. ''He just needs a little more help for now.''

''What does that mean?'' Sam asked, still scared.

''It just means we'll give him more oxygen. It's really not a reason to start worrying.'' Amanda looked at Sam. ''It's nothing you did. You can touch him like I said, you can talk to him. That helps him, believe me.''

After a second of doubt Sam sat down again. ''I called the OR, there wasn't any news on your wife yet. They'll call me as soon as there is. Is there anyone I can get for you now?''

''A few of our friends are outside,'' Sam said. ''Are they allowed to come in here?''

''We have very strict visiting hours,'' Amanda answered with an apologetic smile. ''Grandparents are allowed right now, but friends will have to wait for a while. We only allow two other visitors a day besides parents and grandparents.''

''My sister?'' Sam asked. ''Can she come for a minute?''

Amanda looked around and sighed. ''I can allow that for tonight,'' she said. ''But only because we don't have that many patients and because I can understand that you need your family right now.''

''I understand,'' Sam answered. Of course he got that they didn't want the room to be overcrowded.

''What's her name?''

''Sarah,'' Sam answered. ''But my wife's father probably wants to come too. Tommy McNally.''

''They're not allowed to come in at the same time, I'm sorry. We really need to limit visitors for our patients sakes. I'll send them in one at the time.''

''Thank you.''

XX

An hour later Tommy had met his grandson and Sarah had met her nephew. Both had cried when they saw the tiny newest Swarek boy.

Sarah had given her phone to Sam. His battery had died and Sarah knew that Andy would want to see pictures. She had checked with the nurses and they told her the phone was allowed as long as it was on airplane modus. She promised him that she would bring a good camera the next day.

''_He's beautiful,'' _Sarah had said with teary eyes.

Sam had kissed the top of her head while agreeing with her.

Sadly visitors weren't allowed for longer than thirty minutes. As much as Sam could use some friends, he understood that everything was for his sons sake. Coming into the world this way was excitement enough for one day.

When Amanda came towards him again Sam's head snapped up. ''I just got a phone call from your wife's doctor. They are almost done and he'll come and find you in the waiting room in a little while.''

Sam looked at his son with doubt in his eyes.

''I understand that it's hard to leave him behind,'' Amanda softly said. ''But we're keeping a close eye on him and your wife is going to want to see you too when she wakes up.''

''Will she be allowed to see him?''Sam asked.

''I don't know the condition of your wife. It all depends on how she's doing. If I have to guess now than I think it won't be today.'' Amanda waited for a moment and then placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. ''Leaving now doesn't make you a bad father,'' she told him. ''It's hard, but you won't be able to be here 24/7. I promise you that we're keeping a close eye on him and we'll come and find you the second something changes.''

Sam nodded and reluctantly stood up. With one look back to his son he left the place that would be home for him for a while.

When he reached the waiting room he was not surprised to see that most of their friends were still there. Oliver was the first one that stood up and hugged his friend. ''Congratulations brother,'' he said. ''Welcome to fatherhood.''

Traci was next in line. She had rushed back to the hospital when someone called her with the news that the baby was born. It was obvious that she had been crying.

When everyone had carefully congratulated Sam, he cleared his throat. ''He's stable,'' he informed everybody. ''Already has a little dark hair and I think he has Andy's nose. I still haven't heard about her, but the doctor should be here in a few.''

Oliver told Sam to sit down and placed a hand on his shoulder. ''How are you doing?'' he asked.

Sam shook his head and looked at his best friend. ''I don't know,'' he admitted. ''An alarm went off when I was sitting with him. I thought my heart was going to stop.'' He ran a hand across his face. ''I don't know how to do this,'' he admitted.

''If there are two people in the world who can handle this, then it's you and Andy,'' Oliver promised.

''I don't even know how she's doing right now,'' Sam angrily said. ''What if she won't make it?''

''Don't even go there,'' Oliver warned. ''You know just as well as I do that she's one of the strong ones. She'll pull through this and I know that the next few weeks will be long and extremely difficult, but you'll get your family home. You have to.''

Sam put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. When he looked up he saw a doctor walking in. ''Mr. Swarek?''

Sam immediately stood up and walked towards the doctor. ''That's me. How's my wife?''

By now the doctor knew better than to suggest that Sam and he talked in private, so he filled them in right away. ''We operated on her for quite some time,'' the doctor told him. ''Our first priority was to do the c-section so that we could focus on your wife and son separately. That all went very well and then we focused on her lungs. One of her lungs collapsed and we had to place a drain. We'll monitor her very closely to see if another surgery is needed.''

''That's a possibility?'' Sam asked.

''Unfortunately yes. If everything goes well she won't need it though. Then we can remove the drain without surgery and she'll be able to rehabilitate. Because she was stable enough we also looked at her leg. She fractured her kneecap and my colleague was able to repair the damage there. When she's strong enough she's going to need physical therapy.''

''When do you think that will be?'' Tommy quickly asked. He knew his daughter well enough to know that she would want to be able to walk.

''I can't tell you that,'' the doctor answered. ''We'll have to wait. She won't be allowed to stand on her leg for at least six weeks, but with the right amount of physical therapy she should be able to make a full recovery.''

Sam didn't get why they didn't just open with that last sentence. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and thanked the doctor.

''Just remember that she basically had three surgeries in one day,'' the doctor explained. ''She'll won't be back to her old self immediately.'' The doctor left and told Sam that he would be allowed to see Andy soon.

Once again a nurse came to get Sam, this time to go see Andy.

When he entered her room she was still asleep. ''How long before she wakes up?'' Sam asked.

''Probably within an hour,'' the nurse answered. ''Please call us when she wakes up.''

Sam sat down next to Andy's bed and took her hand in his. ''You're a mom,'' he said with a sad smile on his face. ''He's so small, but so beautiful.''

''Ten fingers, ten toes. He's perfect. He looks like you.'' Sam lifted Andy's hand and pressed his lips to it. ''You have to wake up sweetheart. I know that you think that I'm capable of doing this alone, but I'm not. I need you next to me. We both need you.''

Sam kept looking for signs that Andy was about to wake up. When her eyes fluttered thirty minutes later he stood up and brushed her hair from her face. A smile took over his face when she tiredly looked at him.

''Hey,'' Sam said after he pressed a kiss to her forehead. ''How are you feeling?''

Andy closed her eyes and opened them again a second later. ''Groggy,'' she answered. She turned her head and looked confused. ''Where am I? What happened?''

Before Sam could answer her hand went to her stomach. Panic filled her and tears ran down her face immediately. ''No, no, no, no,'' she said. ''No,'' she yelled one more time.

Sam had to physically restrain her from getting out of bed. He grabbed both of her hands and used his upper body to keep her on the bed. ''Sweetheart, he's okay,'' he promised. ''You had an accident, but he's okay. Listen to me, okay? He's in the NICU and he's doing good now. He's healthy.''

Andy kept shaking and sobbing. Sam quickly put his hand on her face and forced her to look at him. ''He's okay,'' he repeated. ''I saw him, I touched him.''

When she got her breathing under control again Andy sobbed one more time. ''He's okay?'' she asked.

''He's perfect,'' Sam said one more time. ''He's going to be here for a while, but he's doing good. Now you need to calm down because you need to get better too. He needs you, you got that?''

Andy nodded and tried to sit up again. ''I want to see him.''

Sam's heart broke when he saw the determination in her eyes. ''Sweetheart, you can't like this. You need to get a little stronger first.''

''He's my son,'' Andy cried. ''I want to see him.''

Sam wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. ''I know,'' he said. He let her cry in his arms as he reached for the button to call the nurse. When she came in a minute later Andy was still crying.

''Mrs. Swarek,'' the nurse interrupted them. ''We need to do a few test.''

Andy sniffed and looked at the nurse with sad eyes. ''Can I please go see my son?'' she asked. ''Just for a moment. I just need to see him.''

''I understand,'' the nurse gently said. ''But what your son needs most right now, is for his mom to get healthy. So the best thing you can do right now is lay down and try to calm down. I understand that this is really difficult for you, but it's honestly the best thing you can do for him now.''

''I'm his mom,'' Andy sadly said, her voice breaking again. ''He needs me to be there for him. He's all alone. He's probably scared.''

''I promise you that they are keeping a very close eye on him. He's not alone and you'll be allowed to see him as soon as it's safe for both you and him.''

Sam stood there helplessly as Andy was bargaining. It broke his heart to see her like this. She had never looked more broken and more vulnerable.

''Sweetheart,'' he tried again. ''Please just listen to the nurse, okay? I promise you that he's in the best possible hands and we'll go see him as soon as you can.''

''I can go see him now,'' Andy tried one more time. ''I'm fine.''

''You just had a big surgery,'' Sam argued. ''You need to let them do their tests and you need to rest.''

Andy shook her head and let out a heartbreaking sob. ''I need my baby. Please, I just need my baby.''

The nurse looked at Andy and placed a hand on her shoulder. ''We're going to give you something that will help you relax for a moment, okay?'' she asked.

The nurse looked at Sam and when he gave her a small nod of approval she left for a second. Sam sat down on the bed again trying to calm Andy, but nothing was helping. When the nurse came back and put something in her IV, Andy slowly calmed down.

When she was asleep again Sam looked at the nurse. ''Is this normal?'' he asked. ''Didn't she hurt herself with this?''

''She was separated from her baby,'' the nurse explained. ''Any good mother would give you the exact same reaction. She just had surgery, she's in pain, hormones are going through her body and she doesn't know what happened. All of that together is causing her to react like this.''

''What should I do when she wakes up next time?'' Sam wondered.

''She's probably going to be a lot more calm. Just tell her that her son is okay. See if you can get some pictures for her, that will maybe help her to take it all in.''

Sam nodded and looked at Andy again. He whipped away the tears that were still on her face. ''When will she be able to go see him?''

''Normally we don't allow patients to get out of bed for the first time without a physical therapist. Especially now that since she's not allowed to put any weight on her leg.'' The nurse looked at Sam and then looked back on Andy. ''We can't bring her into the NICU with a bed. If she's strong enough we'll see if we can take her in a wheelchair. I'll have to discuss it with her doctor first. It has to be safe for your son too.''

''Of course,'' Sam said. ''Whatever is best for them.''

XX

Three hours later Sam was sitting by Andy's bedside again. He had sat with their son for a few hours and then headed back to Andy's room. He was exhausted, but wouldn't allow himself to give into it. He needed to be there for Andy and his son right now, he could sleep later.

Chris had taken Sarah's phone home and had come back with a few printed pictures of baby Swarek. Traci had hung up the pictures in Andy's room and everybody had bought cards and balloons saying: _'It's a boy'. _

The day had been a rollercoaster and even though everybody was worried and exhausted, a baby had been born and that was a reason to celebrate.

Slowly Andy's eyes opened again. Her eyes found Sam's and he squeezed her hand. ''Good morning,'' he said.

Andy smiled sadly and took a moment to remember everything that had happened. ''Am I still not allowed to see him?'' she asked softly.

Sam leaned a little closer to her and ran his hand through her hair. ''The nurse said maybe later today. First the doctor needs to see you, but look.'' Sam pointed at the pictures that were on the walls and on Andy's bed. ''That's our son.''

Tears filled Andy's eyes again as she tried to sit up. Sam could see that she was in pain, so he supported her as well as she could. ''He must be so scared,'' Andy whispered. ''He's not even a day old and he's all alone.''

Sam pressed a kiss to her cheek and shook his head. ''Your dad is sitting with him now.'' He took one of the pictures of the end of the bed and gave it to Andy.

''He should be with me,'' Andy said as she ran her finger over the picture. ''I'm so sorry.'' She bowed her head and all Sam could do was wrap her up in his arms again.

''It's not your fault,'' he soothed her. ''It's not your fault.''

''It was way too soon for him to be born,'' Andy sadly said. She had a tight grip on Sam and cried on his shoulder. ''He should have been with me for at least eight weeks.''

''I know,'' Sam said. ''I know, but now he's in good hands now too. We're going to do this together. Every step of the way.''

''You have to go see him,'' Andy said as she laid back down. ''I promise that I'll stay here. I'll do as they say. Just go be with him. He needs you.''

Sam wanted to argue that she needed him too, but when he saw the look of determination in her eyes he knew that there was no point to argue. He quickly kissed her lips and when he looked back he saw her clutching the picture like a lifeline.

When Sam reached the NICU again he told Tommy to go home and get some sleep. Tiredly he sat down next to his son. ''Your mommy can't wait to meet you. She's fighting really hard to come and see you as soon as she can, okay?''

An hour later Amanda did her last rounds. ''You should get out of here,'' she told him.

''I can't.''

''Look, I'm not going to lie to you,'' Amanda said. ''The next few weeks will be difficult. The first weeks are always hard for a new parent. But to have your son here and your wife upstairs must be a hundred times harder. And the only way to get through that is if you think of yourself too.''

''I won't be able to sleep,'' Sam argued.

''Lay down,'' Amanda shot back. ''You'll rest too and I think you'll fall asleep soon enough.'' When Sam didn't respond she placed a hand on his shoulder. ''We have a family room. You don't even have to leave the hospital. You can be close to your family.''

''I told my wife I would stay with him.''

''I'm sure your wife knows you need to rest too,'' Amanda tried. ''But she's a new mom and especially in her condition it's hard to think clearly.''

''What if something happens?''

''My shift ends in half an hour, but I'll tell my colleagues where you are. If something happens they'll wake you.''

Sam thought about it for a moment and decided that she was right. He had been up for over 24 hours and it had been the hardest hours of his life. With a quick nod he agreed.

''You say your goodbyes and come and find me,'' Amanda said. ''I'll show you the room.''

Sam looked at his son and smiled. ''I'll be back as soon as I can. You just do your best to grow strong, okay? I love you buddy.''

XX

**A/N: What a day for Sam, right?  
But everybody's okay.**

**Please review. **

_**Next up: Will Andy be allowed to see her baby? And what happens if Sam sees William at the hospital? **_


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